Raising Takoda
by Estrella
Summary: This isn't one of those typical Jack and Sally have a family stories, although those are quite nice in their own right. This one is different, I promise. Just take a peek inside and see for yourself.
1. Missing

Author's Note: Here it is, the official re-edit from yours truly! Know all those little nits you tend to find when flipping through my tales. Well, time to say good-bye to them because they are being cleaned out. Good riddance to them if you ask me. So, once again, here's to clearer dialogue, no more typos, and the end of those weird spacing problems. What are up with those anyway?

Raising Takoda

After a particularly odd and harsh winter, spring had finally come to all of the worlds, Real and Holiday. It was a season of new life and of rebirth. The only realm that saw this as work was the Easter Realm, which was working towards spreading joy throughout all the lands. However, this story begins in a different land. It starts with a black-clothed man walking his way towards a not quite foreign village.

"I cannot believe this! There is never a moment of peace for me," he complained to no one but himself. "First a rampaging skeleton and now this."

"It does no good to talk to yourself." said a distinctly female voice.

"Show yourself!" the man said as he made a feeble attempt to act frightening.

Out of the woods stepped someone the man knew, for he sighed in relief. She was a tall woman in her twenties with a slightly darker complexion than the man. She had waist length black hair tied and decorated with beads and shells. Her clothing and boots were made from tanned animal skins, along with her light cloak. Her brown gaze was welcoming, yet had a hint of fear in it.

"I'm glad you could come on such short notice, Jacob Miller."

"Please, no formalities with me. I'm no village elder, Kimi."

"You should be. You are much nicer than those men."

"I doubt you informed my settlement to send me to your village just to compliment me. I am betrothed, you know."

"Jacob, something happened to my sister and her husband."

"They had a child recently, did they not?"

"They did. That is the problem."

"Kimi! That is no way to speak of a child."

"Not in that manner, Jacob. The child is missing."

"Missing? What do you mean by missing?"

"As in gone, vanished without a trace. The poor dear is only a month old."

"Why are you telling me of this?"

"Jacob, you know that I am the only woman in my village who knows your language. I am also the only one who has been informed of Takoda's disappearance, so far. If the men knew, they would try to hold a meeting with your elders, and we both know how that would go."

"I see your point," Jacob said before trying to cheer Kimi up."Takoda is a nice name."

"It means 'a friend to all' in our language. He is such a good baby, I have no idea who would do something to him. That is why I want you to find out anything you can."

"Well, I have a meeting with the Council of Celebrations coming up. I'll bring this up to them. They know more about these kinds of things than either of us do."

"Thank you, Jacob. Please do all you can. My sister is very worried and her husband will not wait too long before taking matters into his own hands."

With that said, Kimi hugged Jacob goodbye and went back into the woods.With a heavy sigh, Jacob Miller turned around and went back towards his own home. How strange it felt to be called by his name instead of just a Pilgrim. The Council was still working on personal touches like that, but it would take a while for each to fully know everything about the other members. Jack Skellington was one of those enigmas Jacob had trouble figuring out.

It wasn't that Jacob disliked Jack. In fact, he found the skeleton the most interesting dead person he had ever met. Still, Jack could go off on his own plans every once in a while, plans that spelled 'trouble' in capital letters. As Jacob thought more and more of this dilemma, he could picture the Pumpkin King storming into his world and looking for the child himself. This caused a shiver to run down the pilgrim's spine.

"Perhaps I should rethink telling the Council about this." Jacob said to himself as he finally saw the smoke coming from his settlement.

As the pilgrim continued his return journey, another was taking place in a different set of woods. What appeared to be a bone snapped from a rib cage hurtled through air and hit a tree before falling to the ground. What followed was a small, transparent dog with a glowing orange nose hovering and barking after it. It sniffed around the ground before lighting the area where the bone landed and grabbing it in its mouth proudly. It was about to go back to its master before sniffing something strange in the air.

"Zero?" the dog's owner called out. "Did you find it, boy?"

Zero dropped the rib bone in curiosity of the new smell. The dog sniffed around once more until it found something peculiar. There was a blanket lying on the ground. Zero was about to hover even closer when he heard footsteps, which drew his attention away from the blanket.

"Here you are," Jack said. "I was wondering what happened to you. Is something the matter?"

Zero responded by hovering back to the blanket.

"Well, this is certainly unusual," Jack said as he knelt down before seeing some movement in the blanket. "Very unusual," he added before taking the blanket in his right hand and lifting some of it.

Jack couldn't believe his eye sockets. This was so strange for him that he got up and evenbacked away a step. Never before had this happened. Jack had found a child the woods. Not only a child, but one that was alive. This was a strange event indeed. Jack had no idea what to do. Heck, he was almost speechless. However, being that he was the loquacious Pumpkin King, that didn't last long.

"A baby? A live baby in the woods? How did you get here?" Jack asked as he picked the sleeping child up. "This isn't a place for you. Zero, we're taking it home."

Zero hovered in front of Jack as the two walked back to Halloween Town. Only this time, there were three returning instead of two this time. Neither of them realized how much trouble that infant could bring. Then again, neither of them really cared about anything at that point other than going home, even with an unexpected guest.

Oh my, so that's where that baby went. But how did Takoda get in the woods? Was he abandoned by his own parents? Can it be that something sinister is going on and poor Jack just stepped in the middle of it? That's for the following chapters to reveal. Have fun, everyone.


	2. New Parents

Author's Note: Merry Christmas! I hope everyone has enjoyed this lovely holiday season so far. As my gift to all of you, I'm updating this story. For the record, I don't really own much in any of my stories. I'm borrowing characters and settings for my own use. You can thank Mr. Burton, Mr. Elfman, Disney, and Touchstone Pictures for making the original nightmare come true and Capcom for bringing it back, albeit in a different way. But the idea is mine, and that's not too shabby. By the way, this story does take place after the movie. In fact, it's an indirect sequel to my first story, The Nightmare Before Valentine's Day. Hopefully, it will be understandable to both fans of that story and those who have yet to read it. Well, that's it for me. Here's the second chapter.

The trees began to grow few and far between as the pair walked home with their new bundle. Soon enough, they were out of the woods altogether and stepping on cobblestones. Yes, they were definitely back in Halloween Town. Jack could tell by the screaming. Now, this was not just any screaming. It was the Mayor; he was running towards Jack with the Behemoth following him. The Mayor fell over a few times before finally reaching Jack. He seemed to have something important to say, as usual.

"Jack! Where have you been! I've been looking over these papers for decorations and I need your help," said the Mayor as he dropped rolls and rolls of black paper on the ground.

"What kind of help do you need, Mayor?" Jack asked as he looked over the bundle in his arms.

"Tell me, which color should we use to decorate the Town Hall?"

"Mayor, they're all black paper."

"No they're not."

"Are you sure about that?"

"This one here is ebony. The one next to it is jet black. The third is midnight sky and the fourth is oblivion black. Don't even get me started on cauldron black."

"All of them are fine, Mayor, really."

"Please, Jack. Halloween's barely six months away."

"Oh, alright. I'd go with the midnight sky."

"My thoughts exactly! Come along, Behemoth, we have to measure that one up with the orange rolls. Come by to see me later about those, Jack."

The Behemoth picked up the fallen rolls of paper and walked after the Mayor once more. Jack shook his head at the unlikely pair. Zero hovered ahead of Jack towards their home and the skeleton quickly followed. They could not risk seeing the Mayor again, and the baby could waken at any moment. Jack was sure that news of a live mortal in Halloween Town would only upset the usually stressed Mayor more than usual. The Pumpkin King had to keep this quiet for now, and there was only one person he could trust.

Zero had already beaten him to the door. He had been barking for it to open, which it did. Jack had just made it up the stairs when he saw the door open and greeted with a kiss on the cheek. Sally would have hugged him as well, has she not seen he was carrying something. That didn't matter though, not yet anyway.

"I was wondering when you'd come back," Sally said. "Did you two have fun?"

"You could say that," Jack said as he began to climb the spiral staircase. "Sally, could you come upstairs with me. I have a surprise for you."

"Oh, really?" Sally asked.

'Oh, no' was what she really meant. See, Jack had this habit of making surprises into disasters. It wasn't his fault, things just happened that way. Sally bit her lower lip slightly before climbing up after Jack. If things were going to get complicated, she could at least know about them this time. Still, the last time things went crazy, it ended well for them. Sally smiled at the ring on her third finger on her left hand, just one of the results from Jack's misadventure with the infamous Day of Love. She decided to stop thinking so negatively then. Whatever Jack had could not possibly be so bad. Even if it was, he meant well. If his heart was in the right place, that was all that mattered, wasn't it?

"I'm here," Sally said as she got to the top of the staircase and saw Jack put an index finger to his mouth. "What's the matter?" she asked in a whisper.

"Come over here," Jack whispered back as he gestured to the bundle on the bed. "I found this in the woods."

"What is it?" Sally asked as she walked to Jack's side.

Jack answered by lifted a flap of the blanket to reveal a tiny mortal child. It had to be the most fragile thing Sally had ever seen. Its head looked very soft, with only a thin layer of black hair covering it. Its eyes were closed as it slept, taking small breaths and moving its arms every few moments or so. Each of its fingers were curled into a tiny fist, one that could easily fit in Sally's palm. She sat next to the child and traced the outline of its fist with her fingers.

"Jack, it's so small. This is a human?"

"A baby. You know, a little one."

"It came from the woods?"

"Someone left it there. I don't know why, usually mortals are so worried about their babies."

"Maybe they didn't want it."

"What a shame. Poor thing could have died if I didn't find it. Then again, if it died, we could make it a resident."

"Jack! We can't let it die."

"Come now, Sally. You know I wouldn't hurt a baby. Scare it, yes, but hurt? Never."

"But it can't stay here. Not if it's alive."

"Not permanently. We'll have to find a good mortal home for it."

"What will we do until then?"

"Keep it here."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Look at that little face. It needs us. Besides, how bad can we be?"

"Well, it does need a good home. Jack, what is it anyway? It's not fair to call the baby 'it' over and over again."

"I haven't checked," Jack said. "Ok, here goes."

Jack lifted more of the blanket to take a quick peek. He quickly put it back and looked right back to Sally with a proud look on his face.

"It's a boy."

"You seem happy about that."

"Definitely. We can name him Jack."

"Jack," Sally said in a giggle.

"Yes, Jack. Until we find a home for him, his name is Jack."

"I have to admit that's better than It."

"Jack's a perfect name. It's my name."

"You've got me there. It's going to get confusing having two Jacks though."

"We can call him Little Jack, or Jack Junior."

"That'll work. Um, Jack? Is he supposed to be wet?"

"No. Why do you- AH!" Jack exclaimed. "Sally, I think he needs to be changed."

"Changed?" Sally asked before realizing what Jack meant. "Oh. _Changed_."

"You wouldn't happen to have any spare cloth lying around would you?"

"I'll take a look. Just keep an eye on him. Oh, and hand me those sheets. I can get those washed and dried in no time."

"Right. Sorry about this. I really have no idea how to raise children at all. I just scare them and go on my way," Jack said as he untucked the wet sheet and unwrapped the baby.

"If we're going to be parents Jack, I guess we have to learn," Sally said as she took the sheet and blanket.

"Parents. That word sounds so odd to me for some reason, but nice too."

"Remember, Jack. We're only keeping Little Jack until we find him mortal parents."

"Don't worry, Sally. Everything will be fine. Besides, I have a contact in the Real World who can help us. If things get out of hand, the Council can help too."

"That's good to hear," Sally said as she found a spare piece of cloth and threw it to Jack. "Time to change him, Daddy," she finished with a slight giggle before going down the staircase.

"Daddy," Jack repeated before he began to change the infant.

Awwwww, Takoda has surrogate parents. Isn't that sweet? Will they get too attached to him though? Or will they find some mortals to take him and perhaps complicate things even further? And who is Jack's contact? Find out next time. (Re-edit comment: Come on, who else would it be?)


	3. Advice from Billy and Patience

Author's Note: Happy New Year everyone! Let's start the new year off with a little bang, shall we? Alright. The Nightmare Before Christmas came from someone else's head, not mine. It's music was not composed by me nor did I sing in it, unfortunately. I did not market it or put it in theaters, but if I had the chance to, I would have. I'm not making it into a video game, that's someone else altogether. What I am doing is writing this and shamelessly plugging my other stories every once in a while. Thank you for sitting through this disclaimer and on with the show. (Wow, I wrote this around New Year's? Feels like forever.)

Daddy. Yes, that was a nice word. Jack could picture hearing it many times. He wondered how long it took for humans to learn how to talk before he came to his senses. No. This little boy was not his child, even if he had found him in the woods.

"Who would leave you there anyway?" Jack asked aloud to the baby as he finished changing him. "You're so small, and not scary. You're helpless out there. It's a good thing Zero and I found you. You're safe now," Jack said as the baby opened its eyes and let out a yawn. "Sally! Come over, he's awake!"

"Awake?" Sally's voice came from the staircase as she appeared once more. "Can he talk then?"

"Babies can't talk, Sally. Not what we talk anyway," Jack said as he picked up the infant and noticed its gray eyes for the first time. "Hey, his eyes look like rain clouds."

"He looks kind of frightened, Jack." Sally said as she inched closer.

"Hmmm, I better cheer him up then."

Jack then went on to stick his tongue out for the baby. That had the completely opposite effect. Instead of laughing, the child let out a piercing wail. It was worse than any banshee scream or ghostly moan. It was so bad, that Sally covered her ears and Jack winced at the sound.

"I don't think he found that funny," Sally said loudly.

"I really scared him. I didn't mean to," Jack answered. "Shhh, shhh, I'm sorry. Please calm down."

"Maybe he's hungry. What do babies eat?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know!"

"I've never been around one long enough to notice. We could give him candy."

"Are you sure?" Sally asked as the cries grew even louder.

"Never mind," Jack said as he looked into the child's mouth. "He doesn't have any teeth."

"I have some pumpkin juice downstairs. Do you think he'll drink that?"

"It's worth a shot."

Sally bolted back down the stairs and looked everywhere for that juice. She found some bottled up in a cabinet and quickly returned upstairs. Both she and Jack sat on the bed with the baby and tried to calm it enough to drink from the bottle. They found that if they tipped it slightly, the child could drink it easily.

"He likes it," Sally said.

"So he was hungry," Jack said as he kept both the infant and the bottle balanced. "Well, I'm still not going to stick my tongue out at him again."

"It's not your fault, Jack. It's your job to scare."

"I know. Listen, I'm going to sneak out into the Real World and find my contact. I doubt we can keep our sanity for much longer if we have no idea what to do with this baby."

"Come back soon."

"I will. Is there anywhere you can go for help, in case he gets to be too much to handle?"

"We'll be fine. Just hurry back."

"I won't take long. I promise."

Jack kissed Sally on the cheek before carefully handing her Little Jack and the bottle and leaving, but not before tapping his right leg twice. Zero came back to his side before the pair left Skellington Manor and reentered the woods. As the two made their way through trees, a man in Wolf Creek, Kentucky was calmly walking past the park with an acquaintance who took down notes.

"I'm glad you could talk to me outside today, Doc," he said. "Spring's always so warm around these parts."

"Yes, Rosie seems to have a penchant for the outdoors as well, Billy," the psychologist said.

"Everyone should. Especially when everything's going right in the world," Billy said as he fanned himself with his right hand. "Whew, sure is hot out here."

"Oh really?" Doctor Flaherty asked as he shivered in his light jacket. "At least one of us is warm then. It's also good to hear you've settled everything with Mr. Unlucky. I see you've made a complete turnaround since six months ago. Why is it that you've been out of touch?"

"I've been busy, Doc. I've been getting my life back together. I got a new job downtown and I got a raise there last month. I've been going out more and I think I might have found a steady girlfriend," Billy said before he sneezed. "Shoot, must be a lot of pollen out today."

"That's wonderful, Billy. Congratulations," said the psychologist before changing his tone. "Billy, I'd hate to be a wet blanket, but you seem to becoming down with a cold. Maybe you should go for a physical check-up."

"Nah, my body and mind are perfectly fine. I owe it all to you, Doctor Flaherty. If you hadn't listened to me that day, I would never have gotten the courage to talk to Mr. Unlucky."

"If you say so,William Colby. Now, if you ever feel down again, you just come by my office. It was nice speaking to you and let me know how things are from time to time."

"I will, Doc. I'll invite you to my wedding."

"Don't rush now, Billy. I'll see you around," Doctor Flaherty said happily as he walked back to his office.

"I'd hate to ruin a good moment, but I need your help," said a voice.

"Excuse me?" Billy asked before turning around.

Facing Billy was, of course, Mr. Unlucky. That skeleton always had a knack for showing up at the wrong time. However, even this was off. It was almost the end of April for crying out loud. Billy figured that this had to be a very late April Fool's joke, if anything.

"What are you doing here?" Billy asked before noticing the skeleton was not alone. "You brought the mutt?"

"Don't call him a mutt. Remember the last time you upset Zero?" Jack asked.

"I'd hate to tell you this, but Halloween isn't for another six months," Billy said before he sneezed again.

"I know, bless you, but that's not what I'm here for. Billy, do you know anything about babies?"

"Babies?" Billy asked before letting out a chuckle mixed with a cough. "Let me get this straight. You came all the way from Halloween Town to ask me about babies?"

"Yes, I want to know everything about babies."

"Why? Unless... holy crap! You have a lady at home who's expecting!"

"No, that's not-"

"Heck, I didn't know skeletons could have babies."

"Billy, you're not letting me talk again."

"Sorry. But damn, that's a miracle if not impossible."

"The baby isn't mine, Billy."

"Well, you're a sport for sticking with that hussy. Sorry for opening up old wounds, Jack."

"First of all, never call Sally a hussy again. Second of all, I found that baby in the woods, so it does not belong to either of us. I don't think so, anyway. Finally, will you please let me talk!" Jack exclaimed as Zero shook his head, dizzy from following the conversation.

"Sorry. Go ahead."

"I found a baby in the woods and brought it home. But I have no clue how to take care of it, neither does Sally. We want to look after it until we find it a mortal home here in your world, but we don't know how to go about taking care of it or looking for parents. That is why I need your help."

"Well, for one thing, you'll need plenty of diapers."

"Oh, we have cloth at home."

"Not that kind, the disposable kind."

"They make disposable diapers?"

"Jack, you have a lot to learn."

In less than one hour, Billy had told Jack all he could about babies. He told him about disposable diapers, formulas and baby food, clothing, toys, behavior, and all sorts of baby things. He even bought some items for the skeleton, although it was odd for a single man to go into all types of boutiques and baby stores and appear to be talking to himself at times and coughing and sneezing at other times.

"Alright, I have you set up with diapers, formula, bottles, bibs, clothes, pacifiers, and some rattles and toys. I even found an old Doctor Spock book for you in that last store. Now go out there and be the best dead papa you can be."

"I can't thank you enough, Billy."

"You can tell me more about Halloween Town."

"Better. I can show you."

"No thanks, I still kind of spook easy sometimes."

"Not today. You can stop by when we're arranging to find mortal parents for Little Jack."

"So that's his name."

"Well, until we find a home for him."

"Fine. You stop by, just not Friday night, I have a date."

"Right. See you soon, Billy."

Billy couldn't help but laugh as he waved goodbye. It was just so weird to see a formally dressed skeleton carrying bags full of baby items with a ghostly dog balancing a basket on its head. Had he seen a sight like this before he had come to terms with Mr. Unlucky, Billy would have been sure he was going insane or having a feverish delusion. Now, he knew it was just Jack Skellington making an offhanded visit.

Speaking of offhanded visits, Jacob Miller was just walking back into his home after his meeting with Kimi. He saw a stack of papers waiting on his table. Alas, he had forgotten to grade tests again. Perhaps the schoolchildren he taught wouldn't mind if they had their tests in late this once. They certainly didn't mind school was canceled for a time while he and the rest of the Council were taking care of the Valentine Incident.

"I'll grade them tomorrow," he said to himself before hearing a knock at the doorframe.

She looked rather bold to even be knocking at his door, this maiden. She dressed as modestly as everyone else in the colony: black dress, black shoes, black bonnet, and the occasional white apron. Still, she was different. For one thing, this maiden did not live up to her name.

"Well, it is about time, Mr. Miller. I have been waiting forever to see you."

"Come now, Patience. It hasn't been that long," he said as he walked over to the frame. "Since when do pious women vocally demand visits with unmarried men?"

"You will be married to me soon enough."

"Not too soon, I'm afraid. You're starting to rub off on me."

"You know you love me."

"Aye, I do."

Patience kissed him before remembering they could still be seen and then entered. She may have been bold, but not that bold. She took off her bonnet to let her blonde hair loose. Patience always hated wearing it in the spring, it made her so uncomfortable and since she and Jacob were marrying anyway, there was no harm in letting him see her without it.

"I hate them sometimes. Fanatical old codgers, the whole lot of them. Even the one I'm related to, nuts."

"Something wrong, Patience?"

"The Elders saw a strand, a strand,of my hair. They gave me the whole hellfire and brimstone speech in the square. They've been after me since we were betrothed after your return."

"Aye, they're set in their ways and try to make everyone else follow them."

"I'm glad you're not like them. You're educated, you educate others."

"Patience, something troubles me."

"What does? Please tell me. I can keep a secret."

"I spoke to one of the Natives today. A child from their village has gone missing."

"That's horrid!"

"I know. I want to tell the Council about this, but I fear it will get me into even more trouble with the Elders."

"You do what is right, Jacob."

"I hope they had nothing to do with this, I really do."

"You'll think of what to do, Love. I know you will." Patience said as she hugged him. "I had better go," Patience said before beginning to imitate an older man, "Chaste women don't spend time at the houses of unmarried men."

"I'll keep you posted."

Patience nodded as she put on her bonnet and left Jacob's house. Jacob watched her through his window before going back to his thoughts. The council had to know, there was no doubt of that. Still, he couldn't help but feel something gnawing at him. Alas, he decided to ignore it and grade those papers after all.

Uh-oh, something's brewing over Takoda's disappearance. Can it be that the Elders had something to do with it? If they did, why would they kidnap a baby? And how will Jack use the knowledge of babies he received from Billy? Those are all questions for other chapters to answer.


	4. An Old Friend and a New Approach

Author's Note: Welcome back everybody. Let's find out if single men give good advice on parenthood. First off, The Nightmare Before Christmas never belonged to me. It doesn't now and I doubt I'll get my hands on the rights anytime soon. No, that honor belongs to Mastermind Tim Burton and Music Maestro Danny Elfman and their team of Disney distributors. The settings outside of Halloween Town are free to interpretation by anyone, so I'm using them too. Characters that weren't in the movies are molded by me, especially Billy; Billy's my own creation. Finally. Anyway, on with the tale.

Jacob wasn't too far into grading before he heard a loud rustling of feathers. He looked up to see if a bird had somehow gotten up onto the rafters of his home, but there was nothing there. Jacob was about to sit down again when he heard the noise again. He looked out his window to see a quick flash of white before a knock came at his door.

"Who on Earth can it be now?" Jacob asked himself before walking over to the door and opening it slowly. "What are you doing here?" he asked his visitor.

Now, this visitor was no ordinary man. For one thing, he had wings, large white wings sticking out of his back. He wore nothing more than sandals, a white loincloth, and a quiver filled with arrows. He tucked his wings in as he entered Jacob's house before turning to him with a cheery smile on his face.

"I must say, you have quite a nice place here," he said as he stretched out his wings.

"Cupid, our meeting isn't for a few more days with the rest of the Council."

"What? Old chums can't get together?"

"It's not like I'm packing up and visiting Jack Skellington."

"Alright, I will level with you. I need directions to Sarah Annison's abode. I have an appointment I simply cannot miss."

"What business have you with the baker's daughter?"

"First love. I am set to make her fancy a boy tonight."

"Can you do that?"

"I have been for thousands of years. Speaking of love, how is yours? You know, if I was not the one who fixed you up with Patience in the first place, I would never know you two were a couple."

"Not everyone needs to know about my private life."

"Come now, you will marry eventually. The Council would not like it if they were not invited."

"Patience and I are just fine," Jacob said quickly before clearing his throat. "Now that you mention the Council there is something I want to tell you."

"Is there? Are you and Jack having a double wedding? Do not, I beg you. My mother will never stop crying. She gets so emotional."

"I know. But this isn't about weddings or love."

"Well then why are you telling me?"

"I can trust you to keep this quiet until it needs to be said. There's something wrong at the Native village near our settlement. A couple has lost their child. Someone stole him in the night and they will not rest until he is found."

"You were wrong. This is about love. Parents' love for a child is one of the strongest in existence. Except for my mother, but she is a case altogether different."

"Cupid, pay attention."

"Sorry. Go on then."

"I want to bring this up to the Council. I have a feeling the Elders are behind this and I'll need help to prove so. Until our next meeting with them, I want us to be the only ones with this information. If anyone else finds out about this it will be a mess to deal with. Do you understand?"

"I understand. You have my word," Cupid said with a respectful bow before getting up and scratching his head in confusion. "Now, where did Sarah Annison live again?"

As Cupid was getting directions to his latest mission's home, Jack was finally returning to his. He sighed in relief as he saw the relatively deserted streets. It looked like the Mayor was really busying himself with that orange and black paper. The only people out besides Zero and himself were the street musicians, who nodded at his directions and played a song for their Bone Daddy.

"Thanks, guys," Jack said in a cheery tone as he and Zero made their way through the gates and to the house, but not without a black cat crossing their path.

"Well, looks like we have bad luck crossing our paths, Zero," Jack said in a nonchalant tone before noticing the basket that was once on Zero's head was now on the ground. "Zero?" he asked again before seeing his dog bark at the cat, which was now lazily perched on a wall.

Jack shook his head and picked up the basket before climbing up the stairs to the house. As he opened the door, the first thing he was saw Sally lying down on the couch. As he walked even closer, he saw they she had propped herself up on the arm so that she could carry the baby safely. Both of them were asleep and looking rather peaceful. Jack almost let them be, but he couldn't help himself.

"Have fun with the baby, Mama?" he asked Sally as he sat down on the other end of the couch.

"Oh, you're home." Sally said as she slowly opened her eyes and yawned. "I got him to sleep a little while after you left. How was your trip?"

"Enlightening. Look at all of these things." Jack said as he took things out of the bags. "They make diapers that can be thrown away now so you don't have to wash anything extra."

"That's good. I think Little Jack's adorable, but doing that was a little gross."

"I also got some food for him. He's supposed to drink formula."

"Formula? Like the kinds Doctor Finkelstein makes?"

"I don't think so. This one doesn't seem to make him grow an extra head or anything like that," Jack said as he looked at the instructions on the formula. "It's fortified with vitamins."

"What's this?" Sally asked as she took out a pacifier.

"That's something he can suck at to calm himself down. We wouldn't want anything like before happening again. You sure he wasn't trouble?"

"All he did was sleep, really. Cheer up, if you hadn't gone out, we wouldn't have any of these nice things for Little Jack."

"You really are a doll," Jack said with a wide grin as he noticed the baby begin to stir. "Mind if I take him out of your hands?"

"It's ok with me," Sally said as she offered Jack the baby.

"Come to your Dead Papa, little fellow."

"Dead Papa?"

"Just a name my contact mentioned to me. He's good at giving me names. Mr. Unlucky was his too," Jack mentioned as he cradled the baby.

"I remember that one," Sally said as she wrapped an arm around Jack's shoulder and looked down on the baby. "You know, for the Master of Fright, you look sweet with a baby in your arms."

"You don't look too bad yourself. Do you think maybe, if there aren't any good mortal homes for him-"

"Jack?" Sally asked. "Are you scheming?"

"A little."

"You know we can't keep him. You said so yourself."

"I know. He's just growing on me."

"He's growing on me too, but it wouldn't be right for a live baby to be raised here."

"I guess not."

"We have to be strong for him until we find his place. People are happier when they do that. I know I was."

"Were you? What is your place then?"

"Right here with you," Sally said.

"See, that's not fair. How can I argue with that?" Jack asked in a mock angry tone and unknowingly sticking his tongue out.

"Jack!"

The damage had already been done. The baby caught the skeleton making the face again and started screaming once more. Jack nearly slapped his forehead before realizing he was still holding the baby. Sally managed to get one of the pacifiers out of a wrapper and give it to the infant, who started sucking on it peacefully. Jack sighed heavily before catching Sally giggle at him.

"Thanks," he said embarrassedly.

"Just try not to stick your tongue out at him again."

"My contact gave me some kind of contraption for Little Jack to lie down and play in. Why don't I set that up and we can take a little break from all this carrying."

"You do that," Sally said before noticing something. "Jack, he's wet."

"Again?" Jack asked. "Well, I guess it's time to try the diapers out too."

"I'll take care of that this time." Sally said as she took the baby in her own arms. "Jack, I think your shirt needs to be washed."

"What?" Jack asked before seeing the damp area on his white shirt. "For crying out loud!"

"Hand it over."

"Ok," Jack said as he took off his jacket before removing the shirt.

"Just drape it on my shoulder."

"I didn't realize he'd be so wet all the time. Billy never told me about that."

"I guess he wanted to leave some of the joys of parenthood to be a surprise."

"Wetness is something I'd like to know about," Jack said as he put on his jacket and then took it back off. "It just doesn't work without the shirt."

"That's alright, Jack. I don't mind," Sally said before she started to walk off with Little Jack. "To be honest, you always look good to me."

Jack beamed at Sally's compliment before getting to work on the playpen. Parenthood was getting more complicated by the second. Still, it had some kind of charm to it that Jack couldn't put a name on. It would be nice taking care of Little Jack for a while, but he would have to go one day. Jack would probably never see him grow up, except for Halloween, and even that would be only once a year without the baby even knowing it. What Jack would have liked was a baby he and Sally could keep. Alas, he had no idea how to go about finding one. Besides, he had his hands full at the moment anyway.

There you go, Jack Fangirls, I managed to get him shirtless. While you ponder that thought, here are some others- Can Cupid really keep a secret? What will the Council do about the "missing" Takoda? And can it be that the Pumpkin King really doesn't know where babies come from? Oh my. We'll find out the answers to all of those as the story goes on. (Re-edit Comment: Poor Jack always seems to end up half-nekkid at some points in my stories. I just noticed that.)


	5. Babies, Storks, and Cabbage Patches

Author's Note: Hark! It seems that I have some free time. We all know what that means. Remember, folks, I had nothing to do with the creation or success of The Nightmare Before Christmas. I am not Tim Burton or Danny Elfman or a member of either Disney or Touchstone Pictures. I play video games a lot, but that doesn't mean I'm part of Capcom either. I am an obsessed fan who just likes to write about it and such, that's all.

As Jack was trying to figure out how Rod B exactly slid into Rod Q of the hideously complicated play pen, Cupid had literally dropped into Valentine Town. He was filled with the sweet sense of establishing another love connection. Not only that, but he needed to inform someone about the current incident in Thanksgiving Town. Cupid knew of only one person who could handle the information. Saint Valentine himself would be busy, as always, and Cupid knew his mother would march her way right over to Thanksgiving Town herself if she heard of what happened. So, Cupid depended on his wife to hear him out.

"Psyche?" Cupid asked as he strolled into the spacious home he and Psyche shared. "Are you home, Love?"

"Coming," Psyche's voice said from a distance.

"Never mind, I will find you."

Cupid lifted himself off of the floor and began to search the entire manor. He dodged columns and brushed the murals on the ceilings with his wings before he stopped at the exit to the garden. It was here that he landed and walked outside. Psyche was sitting across from him and looking at the rose bushes as they began to bloom. She turned around the moment she heard his foot step on the grass.

"I take it you had a good day."

"Well, yes and no."

"You didn't prick yourself with another arrow, did you? I swear, you get clumsier with those things every day."

"No, no. My mission went just fine. Sarah Annison has finally found true love."

"That's nice, Dear."

"However, it seems that Thanksgiving Town is on the brink of a terrible conflict."

"What's going on?"

"Promise not to tell my mother?"

"You know we're hardly ever on speaking terms to begin with."

"Right. Anyway, the Natives who live near the Pilgrim settlement have experienced a horrible tragedy. One of their newborns has been stolen," Cupid said, immediately noticing the look of dread on Psyche's face.

"Stolen? The poor parents, as if they had enough things to worry about in the first place."

"I spoke with Jacob. He thinks it was done by the Village Elders. I can tell you right now I would not doubt that, especially after they allied with Eris."

"Poor child. One has to be so careful with children," Psyche said as tears formed in her eyes.

"Love, I apologize for giving you such distressing news."

"It's not the news, Cupid."

"What is it then?" asked the deity as he brushed Psyche's hair away from her face.

"It's just so ironic, really. You barged in here telling of a couple who has lost a child."

"Why is that ironic?"

"I know of a couple about to receive one," Psyche said as she grabbed one of Cupid's hands.

"Oh my," Cupid said as he sat down next to Psyche. "I'm so sorry. This is so stupid of me, telling you about a stolen baby when you are expecting."

"You didn't know. It's alright."

"How did you find out?"

"You know I've been feeling sick since a bit after the whole problem with Eris. I went to an Oracle on the outskirts of town this morning to see if she knew what was troubling me. She said that you and I are to become parents of a divine little cherub by winter."

"Mother must have been thrilled to find out she was going to be a grandmother," Cupid said sarcastically.

"Oh, she kicked me out of the Temple when I told her. She's probably still crying about it. The last thing I saw as I was whisked away from the grounds was Venus breaking a few mirrors and calling herself an old hag. I thought it was funny, to be honest."

"You know what? We can just forget about what she or anyone else thinks. I am happy and honored to have a child with you. I promise no one will ever lay a hand on him or her and that he or she will always have love in life."

"You better live up to that, you are the God of Love after all."

"You rest and take care of yourself. I'm going to help the Council find that child and return him to his proper home. I'll make sure those who took him will pay for their crime. If anyone ever did that to our child, well, I will not even begin to describe what I would do to them."

"Be careful, Cupid, and thank you. You're a wonderful husband and will be a wonderful father," Psyche said before kissing him fully on the lips.

"I'll return as soon as I can," Cupid said as he hugged Psyche goodbye. "Mr. Claus usually knows what to do when things like this happen. I'm going to inform him about this right away."

"Good luck," Psyche said before watching her husband take off to his next destination.

By the time Cupid had gone off to tell someone else about the missing child in Thanksgiving Town, Jack had finished putting together the play pen. Well, for the most part, anyway. See, Rod B and Rod Q were so frustrating that Jack threw them aside to begin with. However, Rods A-2, Z, X, and T-34 were no easier. It wasn't long until Jack used the rods to fashion some kind of tent frame on which he threw his jacket in top of. He then took a cushion from the couch and out it inside the tent and then placed two smaller pillows on top of it so that the baby would not turn over in his sleep.

"Well, what do you think?" Jack asked as Sally walked back into the room with Little Jack and the clean shirt.

"It certainly doesn't look that way on the box," Sally noted as she tilted her head slightly. "I like it though. Can I put him inside?"

"Of course, but first, I'll be needing my shirt," Jack said as he picked it off Sally's shoulder.

"Here you go, little one," Sally said as she placed the baby on the cushion inside the "adjusted play pen". "What are those other pillows for?"

"So he doesn't turn over in his sleep, that's kind of dangerous for little mortals," Jack said as he threw the shirt on and left it open.

"I think we should watch him, just to be sure he doesn't turn over anyway."

"Me too."

Without another word, Jack and Sally sat down on the floor in front of Little Jack's tent. They watched the baby breathe and move around in its sleep. For being so small, he was certainly active when he was dreaming. They wondered if he knew where he was at the moment, or if he remembered his parents. Jack also wondered something else, which he brought up after a while.

"Sally?"

"Yes, Jack?"

"What do you think of Little Jack here?"

"I think he's sweet, wetness and all. He really does tend to grow on me."

"Do you think, after we give him to mortal parents and we get married, we could have our own Little Jack?"

"I don't know, Jack. Maybe a while after we get married. You know, so it could be just be the two of us at first."

"Of course. We can take all the time in the world, as long as we need."

"And when we want to share our love with someone else, we can have a Little Jack of our own," Sally said.

"Or a Little Sally. A girl would be nice too," Jack said.

"Jack, how do we go about getting a baby of our own anyway?"

"I'm not sure."

"Do you remember anything from being alive that would tell us? I don't at all."

"Are you sure? Your soul's from the Real World too, and you were alive once."

"I know, but all I remember is _Alice in Wonderland_ and a lot of rain and fog. Nothing about love or babies."

"Well, my memory's all fuzzy. I remember that there has to be a man and a woman present and that they don't have to be married, but it's usually the most socially accepted way for a baby to appear. Then there's kissing and something aboutthe Stork. Oh, and cabbage patches have been thrown in every once in a while. I don't remember why though."

"Well, we have the kissing part and the marriage will be taking place eventually."

"Yeah, but where can we findthe Stork and a cabbage patch?"

"We're going to have time to do that after we get married."

"You're right. Now we can focus on taking care of Little Jack."

"And kissing."

"Kissing?"

"Practice makes perfect, and since I don't see a stork or a cabbage patch here, kissing is the only thing we can go on right now," Sally said as she nuzzled her cheek against Jack's.

"Well, he is asleep," Jack reasoned.

Jack had no other chance to change his mind. Without a second thought, Sally kissed him, and he kissed right back. The rag doll reached beneath his open shirt and wrapped her arms around his chest as they sank to the floor. Neither heard the doorbell scream or the door open until it was too late.

"Jack! I found the perfect color!" the Mayor exclaimed before noticing that not only was Jack pinning Sally on the floor, but he seemed to be in a state of undress. "... I'll come back later," his Unhappy Face said before running out of sight.

"Of all times!" Jack exclaimed as he began to button his shirt. "I had better reassure him."

"What a shame, we were doing so well too," Sally said, blowing stray hairs out of her face.

"Hold that thought, I'll be right back," Jack said as he thought about taking his jacket before leaving without it.

Does the Mayor know how to crash a party or what? Oh well, Jack and Sally will have plenty of time for all of that other days. So, how will Santa Claus react to the whole Takoda situation? Will Cupid's new status as a soon-to-be-daddy make him a real nemesis to whoever stole the baby? And will Jack add more to his "extensive" knowledge of the origin of babies? More to come, so stay tuned. (Re-edit Comment: Those two never get a break. I almost feel bad. Almost.)


	6. Secrets and Lies

Author's Note: Hee hee, nice little note to end that last chapter on. Man, the things that pop in my head scare me sometimes. Anyway, The Nightmare Before Christmas was never an idea that popped into my head. No, that beauty popped into heads more creative and richer than mine. I appreciate those heads and the people they belong too. Their brainmeats are very original. Anyway, the following is from my brainmeats. I'm just combining my idea with already established characters and settings for your enjoyment. Thanks and read on.

By the time Jack caught up with the Mayor, the politician looked a bit flushed. He was nearly lying down on the steps of Town Hall and fanning himself with a sample of orange paper. Still, Jack doubted that the redness on the Mayor's Unhappy Face was due to any heat. Jack had to fix this and quick. Suddenly, the perfect, most logical reason as to why he would lock lips with Sally on the ground came to him.

"She was choking!" Jack exclaimed.

"Excuse me?" the Mayor asked as he perked his head up to the Pumpkin King.

"Sorry to give you a fright, Mayor, but I had to do what I had to do. Sally was choking, so I gave her the Heimlich maneuver. However, when the food that was choking her was expelled, she fell to the ground unconscious. So I gave her mouth-to mouth and she was just coming around when you stopped by."

"How horrible. She could've lost her afterlife if it wasn't for you, Jack."

"You know I couldn't let that happen. I apologize again for the scare, Mayor."

"Nonsense, Jack," the Mayor said as his head turned to indicate his brighter mood. "That's what you do best. Now, about this color. It's Pumpkin Orange. I think it'll go great with the black we picked out."

"It'll go just perfectly."

"Splendid! We'll be done with everything by August at this pace. I'm so proud of our progress."

"Me too, Mayor. Listen, I have to check on Sally, you know, to make sure she's feeling well after what happened."

"You go right ahead, Jack. I'll let you know when the rest of the decoration plans are going up for discussion," the Mayor said before shuffling into the Town Hall.

"I can't believe I got away with that," Jack said to himself.

Jack gave himself a little pat on the back before going back to the manor once more. He felt bad lying to the Mayor, but it spared embarrassment for the Mayor, Sally, and himself. He'd have to teach the Mayor about privacy one of these days, but this was not the right time to do so. Jack had a baby to look after.

Speaking of that baby, he was heavy in Cupid's mind as he landed on the snowy clearing mere paces away from Santa Claus' house. Christmas Town was bright and bustling as usual, and Cupid received smiles from everyone who saw him. Cupid knocked on the door to the house, which was answered by a kind, elderly woman in red dress and a white apron.

"Hello, is Santa Claus in today?" Cupid asked.

"I didn't know it was Poker Night already," said Mrs. Claus. "Nicholas, you have another guest."

"I'm not expecting anyone else," Santa Claus said as he too entered the doorway. "Cupid? Get in here, you'll freeze."

"Who else is here?" Cupid asked as he glided in and saw the Rabbi watching television on the couch. "Hello, Rabbi Tevel! Fancy seeing you here."

"I stopped by to discuss some winter plans with Nicholas. The mortals get so crazed over our holidays. We end up planning ahead earlier and earlier each year."

"Poker Night isn't for another week, Holly," Santa Claus said to his wife.

"Poker Night? When are we having a Poker Night? What is poker anyway? Does it involve sharp sticks?"

"We discussed it at the last meeting, Cupid," Santa Claus sighed, realizing just how short Cupid's attention span was.

"He probably didn't hear it over Mr. Skellington's constant praises of Sally," said the Rabbi.

"Either that or Jacob fretting over his engagement. Those will be interesting ceremonies," Santa Claus replied.

"Speaking of Jacob, I have some news to report from Thanksgiving Town."

"Why are you the one reporting it then?"

"Well, Mr. Claus, Jacob kind of wanted this information to be confidential."

"You can't keep secrets, can you?" asked the rabbi.

"I can so. I have not mentioned my wife's pregnancy once and that's a secret," Cupid blurted out before slapping his forehead.

"Not anymore," Santa Claus said.

"That's so nice. Congratulations to both you and your wife," Mrs. Claus added.

"Mazel Tov. Let me know if it's a boy so I can be his Mohel."

"I doubt Venus would want you doing that to her grandchild," Santa Claus pointed out to the rabbi.

"Oh, right. Well, thank you for sharing the news anyway," Rabbi Tevel said.

"That is not what I wanted to let out into the open. Listen, a child in the Thanksgiving World has been taken from his parents."

"What?" asked the Clauses and Rabbi Tevel at the same time.

"A child was born to Native parents. He was taken away one night and has gone missing. Jacob feels there is foul play afoot and would like our help locating the child and returning him to his proper home. I personally want to punish the fiend that did this as well."

"Understandable feelings for a father-to-be to have. What do you think, Mr. Claus?"

"I think we had better postpone our winter plans and solve this mystery, Tevel."

"Oh my, this isn't going to be like last time, is it?" Mrs. Claus asked.

"No, Dear. I won't let things get out of hand."

"You had better not, our world needs you too."

"I know," Santa Claus said before turning to Cupid and Tevel, "We'd better sleep on this for now. Tomorrow, we'll each go to a different Holiday World. One to Saint Patrick Town, another to Easter Town, and one to Halloween Town. Then, we'll all meet Jacob in Thanksgiving Town. Any questions?"

"Who gets which world?"

"That will be decided tomorrow, Cupid."

"Alright then. Here's to a successful mission, gentlemen."

The three Council members shook hands before parting ways. Cupid flew back towards Valentine Town while Tevel decided to head back to Hannukah Town. By now, the sun was setting on all worlds and the darkness of night hid all of the shadows converging in the woods where the entries to all of the Holidays met. On this night, four cloaked shadows found their way out of the turkey-shaped door and shed their disguises once realizing they were alone.

"I feel this is wrong," said a young, brown-haired man.

"Thou art a foolish whelp, Daniel," said an elderly white-bearded man. "Methinks thou wouldst inform the savages of this if thou weren't a coward to begin with."

"Enough, Joseph," said a black-bearded man.

"I see not why this youth is distinguished with the honor of being an Elder, John."

"Perhaps because he can keep his mouth shut, old coot," said a blonde man with a cynical grin.

"Thou art a liar, Robert. Thou art going straight to the land of fire and brimstone for that."

"Aye, as are we all," Daniel said. "We have committed a horrible sin."

"Nay, we have done the savages a favor," said Joseph. "When they attack the village as they look for the child, we will have no choice but to kill all of them. Then we can truly claim the land as our own."

"Well, there is a slight problem with that, Grand Elder," said John.

"What? We took the child and left it to die in these very woods. No one outside of our world knows of its existence."

"Grand Elder, I spotted someone take the child earlier. Someone not of our world."

"John, how could you let this happen?"

"Well, he always could have blown our cover," said Robert.

"Silence!"

"It was the skeletal demon. The one from beyond the Pumpkin Door," John finished.

"This could play to our advantage."

"How so?"

"That bloody skeleton is one of the heathens the Lady Eris wanted us to save. Instead, that horrible creature made us out to look like villains. If the savages find out he has the child, they will attack his world and slaughter the demons one by one. As holy and good men, we must avenge their mass murder by punishing the savages. It will work out perfectly. No more demons and no more savages," the Grand Elder said, grinning as he finished.

"Aye, it was wrong to doubt you, Grand Elder."

"As long as thou hast learned thy lesson. Is that all that worried thee?"

"Aye," John said with a nod.

"Well then, we can go home and carry on as usual. Remember, we did nothing wrong. If we are ever to become the true rulers of our world, the savages must be gone."

Grand Elder Joseph motioned to the door and allowed the three other Elders to walk in before him. Only Daniel had doubts about what they had done. He had kept most of them to himself, for if he let them out the Grand Elder would have questioned his loyalty to the colony. No, Daniel was a good Puritan. He went to church, he said his prayers. God would forgive him for this. He would have to, wouldn't He?

Those damn Elders! They were behind it _and _they wanted the poor kid dead. How long until the truth comes out? Will the Council figure out Jack has the baby in time to stop anything bad from going down in Thanksgiving Town? Will Takoda ever get to his parents again? Find out as the story continues. (Re-edit comment: Whew, brushing up on 17th Century English takes a lot out of an author. Looks pretty authentic once it's put to use though.)


	7. Hidden Information

Author's Note: Oh my, it seems I'm locked in the house while snow piles up outside. Whatever will I do? Well, I can always update! Ladies and Gents, I bring to you more of this little old thriller/comedy/drama/semi-romance/mish-mosh of a story. It's a loving interpretation of the world and characters of The Nightmare Before Christmas. I had no say in the poem or film. If I did, I'd be a heck of a lot older and a bit richer. Then again, I doubt I'd be writing this, and that would be sad. So here's to another chapter and happy reading whether or not you're snowed in.

Daniel wasn't the only one having a restless night. Ever since finding "Little Jack", the Pumpkin King wondered how a baby could pretty much sleep the entire day. The answer came in a wail in the middle of the night. Jack woke up, yawned, and stretched as he got out of bed. He had to see what was wrong with Little Jack before Sally could wake up. The skeleton looked back at the bed to see that he had woken up too late. Sally was already up and gone. Jack quickly went down the staircase and sure enough found her rocking the sniffling baby in her arms and trying to contain a yawn.

"He was hungry," Sally said as he tilted her head to the empty bottle next to her leg.

"I'm sorry. It's my responsibility, I should have woken up," Jack said.

"Jack, I don't think it's too safe for him sleeping in his little tent all alone down here."

"You're right. I'll take it upstairs and put it next to the bed."

"Yes. If he needs anything else, we'll be right there."

"He's wide awake. I didn't know he could be so alert at this time," Jack said as he waved to the baby and watched him curl his lips into a little smile. "Hey, I didn't scare him this time!"

"You're learning," Sally said as she slowly got up with the baby. "Think he'll be up all night?"

"Billy would've told me if he would cry all night."

"Maybe it's in that book he gave you. Have you looked at it?"

"Not really," Jack said as he picked up the materials for Little Jack's tent.

"Well, you'll have plenty of time to look through it now," Sally said as she walked up the stairs ahead of Jack.

"So much for sleep, I guess."

Little Jack was up the entire night. During quiet moments, Jack would research the infant's behavior in the book and Sally would get at least a few moments of sleep. Evidently, infants Little Jack's age had no set biological clock that would alert them when to sleep and when to awaken. It wasn't his fault, it was how he functioned. Sleep deprivation, much to Jack's dismay, was a common thing for new parents to undergo.

By the time morning came, Little Jack had finally gone to sleep. A dead-tired Jack decided that today would be a good day to visit Billy and ask him why he had not told him babies were nocturnal. Heck, he'd even take the baby with him. Sally would need the break after the day and night before.

"Sally?" Jack asked.

"Yes?" Sally answered as she lifted her head from a pillow.

"I'm taking Little Jack on a little field trip to the Real World. I need to ask Billy a few things and I think he'd like seeing the little guy."

"Alright. Take some diapers and formula, maybe a rattle or a pacifier. You might have to take a bag and put Little Jack in a carrier. I'll help you pack."

"Oh no you don't. You practically took care of him all of yesterday. Lie back and relax. If anyone's going to be sleep deprived, it's going to be me. Go on back to sleep, you'll need the energy."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Mother."

"You can be so immature. It's hard to tell which one of you is the kid," Sally said as she reached out for Jack's hand. "Be careful with him."

"I'll guard him as if he was our own," Jack said and he held on to her hand.

"Don't take too long. When I do have energy, I'll want to talk to you, maybe even kiss you again if you lock the doors."

"Consider it done. I won't be long, Sally."

Jack lifted her hand to kiss it and gently let it go. Sally smiled at him before closing her eyes and going back to sleep. Jack changed and prepared himself and the baby for their journey to the Real World. He thought of bringing Zero again, but saw that he was looking out the window at a black cat lying on the branches on a tree. Jack decided to let things be and just take Little Jack by himself.

Billy Colby was feeling a little under the weather that morning. It seemed that the warmth he felt the day before wasn't due to the spring weather of Kentucky after all. Billy had a headache, a fever, and a slight cough. He had called his girlfriend to warn her that their impending date might have to be canceled. She promised to see him when she got out of work. He was lucky she did not stop by earlier, because an unexpected visitor dropped in with a most unusual agenda.

"Lord, I think my head's going to explode," Billy said to himself upon hearing the doorbell. "Coming!" he exclaimed before opening the door.

"Did I come at a bad time?" Jack asked, noticing the purely shocked look on Billy's face.

"That's the first time you've ever entered my life like a normal person," Billy said with a cough. "I'm not counting the time you brought the three homicidal maniacs in training."

"I apologized for that," Jack said as he brought a bag and a carrier into Billy's home.

"Jack, I'm a little sick today. I don't know if I'm up for your spookiness."

"What's so spooky about this?" Jack asked as he revealed the baby in the carrier.

"Well I'll be damned! He's human. I was kind of expecting a little monster thing."

"I found him in the woods, remember?"

"How do I know you don't live in spooky woods where everything that goes there ends up all scary looking?"

"Billy, I have many things to discuss and very little time to spare."

"Alright," Billy said before kneeling down to the baby. "Cute little guy. Hard to believe he was dumped off in the woods."

"Yes, because since babies don't come from the woods. They come from the Stork and cabbage patches."

"... Excuse me?"

Billy was sure he had not heard Jack right. Stork and cabbage patches? Billy wasn't sure where to begin telling Jack how wrong he was. Besides, he was a little sick himself, so he wasn't sure he'd get a good explanation to the skeleton anyway. Still, when Jack repeated that babies came from the Stork and cabbage patches, Billy cracked up.

"What is so funny?" Jack asked.

"I haven't believed in the Stork since I was a kid. Same with cabbage patches. You've been getting some bad information."

"Can you give me some good information then?"

"Well, what you want to know about that is hard to explain. Have anything easier to talk about?"

"But I want to know about the Stork."

"The Stork doesn't exist, Jack. It's a fairy tale."

"Sure, and Santa Claus doesn't exist either."

"That's right," Billy said in a very confident tone before coughing.

"You're wrong there," Jack said, breaking into a grin.

"Are you for real?"

"Santa Claus exists. We've spoken on several occasions."

"How about the Easter Bunny?"

"He's real too."

"The Tooth Fairy?"

"Tooth Fairy?" Jack asked in a confused tone.

"She's supposed to visit you when you lose teeth," Billy explained, excited to hear if any other beings from his childhood really existed.

"Oh. Well, I haven't lost any... we're getting off subject!"

"What were we talking about?"

"You were going to tell me where babies come from."

"No I wasn't."

Before Jack could protest any more, Little Jack began to cry from his carrier. Billy and Jack looked at each other before both turned to the baby. He seemed to be wet again, which caused Jack to ask Billy why babies were always so wet to begin with. As Jack changed the child's diaper, he explained that babies couldn't control their bodily functions; that's why diapers were needed in the first place. Babies were usually toilet trained when they were older, about two or three years old.

"We have to teach them how to do that?" Jack asked as he finished up the diaper-changing.

"You'll still have him by then?" Bill asked as he scratched his head.

"Well, no, I guess not. His parents, whenever we find them, will have to deal with that."

"You know, Jack, adoption here isn't so easy. We can't just put a baby for sale ad in the paper. I think I can go to jail for that."

"Do you know any childless couples who want a baby?"

"A lot of the time they want one that belongs to them."

"Well, if they take Little Jack, he _will_ belong to them."

"Not in that way, Jack. It all goes back to where babies come from. And don't ask me to explain because I'm too sick to get all my facts straight. You'd better go before I get the kid sick too."

"Sick? They can get sick?" Jack exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me that before?"

"It didn't cross my mind," Billy said. "Don't worry about it."

"What if he gets sick though? I'll need medicine. We don't have medicine in Halloween Town. Everyone's already dead so they don't get sick."

"I'll take some to you then."

"You will? That's great! Do you know how to get there?"

"I have no clue."

"Oh. Well, go to the Wolf Creek Cemetery and walk into the woods past it. You going to feel a little weird at one point, like you're lost, but that's just because you're crossing worlds. Keep walking until you see a clearing. In that clearing are trees in a circle, each one with a different door. Halloween Town's the one with the smiling pumpkin door. You can't miss it."

"Crossing worlds?"

"Every forest leads into the clearing. Only those who want to find it will. When you want to leave this world, you'll enter one of the others."

"It won't hurt, will it?"

"No. Just pick up the medicine when you can and go into the woods. If you have anything to make you look scary, wear it. You'll fit in better that way."

"Alright then," Billy said with a sneeze. "Don't expect me until tomorrow."

"Feel better then. Thanks for the information, even if it wasn't the stuff I wanted in the first place," Jack said with a yawn.

"Believe me, once you know about the facts of life, you'll know why I didn't want to explain it. Get some sleep."

"Say goodbye to the nice mortal, Little Jack."

Billy watched as Jack faced the baby towards him before putting him back in the carrier. He held the door open for them as the skeleton made his way back to his world. Luckily, Jack didn't get back to Halloween Town for quite a time. While he was gone, Sally had to answer to a visitor looking for him.

"Hello?" Sally asked as she answered the door.

"Sally! How have you been?" Cupid asked. "Is Jack in?"

"I've been fine. Jack's not here though."

"Oh. Well, I will be on my way then."

"Is something wrong, Cupid?"

"No, nothing. Really."

"Something is wrong then."

"No, not at all. In fact, I am going to be a father soon."

"Really? That isn't bad news."

"No. I've just been letting secrets out lately, and Psyche wanted to keep this quiet."

"Don't worry about it. Say, where did you get a baby?"

"Pardon?"

"Jack and I have been thinking of getting one a while after we get married. You wouldn't know where to find one, would you?"

"Well, it is not that difficult, you just, erm, well..."

"Yes?"

"Ok, it is a little difficult. I know who would be perfect to tell you this."

"Who?" Sally asked.

"My mother," Cupid replied.

"Are you sure she won't be mad?"

"I think you would cheer her up. She has been out of sorts since finding out she is going to be a grandmother. Helping you out would make her feel much better."

"Thank you, Cupid. I think I'll stop by later. I'll let Jack know you were here."

"Tell him to go to the turkey door in the clearing. All of us will wait for him there."

With that, the God of Love took a bow and flew off. He was proud of himself for not upsetting another woman over the disappearance of a baby. Little did he know that he was flying over the missing child. Jack stopped in his tracks as watched Cupid fly away from his home waved to him.

"He didn't see me. I wonder what he was doing here. Well, time to go home, Little Jack," Jack said as he continued on his way, unaware of how close he had come to being found out.

Whew, that was close. Look's like luck is on the Pumpkin King's side this time around. What's going to happen in Thanksgiving Town? Will Jack realize that he has the baby everyone's talking about? And will either he or Sally get the right information instead of storks and cabbage patches? Find out next time. ;) (Re-edit Comment: Billy can be such a little kid sometimes.)


	8. The Truth Almost Comes Out

Author's Note: The weather outside is frightful, but my swively chair's delightful. I don't care if this takes all night... I will write, I will write, I will write. Well, that's a first for me, starting a disclaimer with a ditty like that. Anyway, The Nightmare Before Christmas came from Tim Burton. It's music came from Danny Elfman. It was shown in theaters through Disney and Touchstone Pictures. A video game based on it's characters will be coming out courtesy of Capcom. The song I sang before is a lazy parody of "Let It Snow", which I'm pretty sure I didn't write. That's enough of that.

"Sally?" Jack asked the moment he stepped into the house before hushing himself.

"It's alright. I'm not sleeping," Sally said as she walked out of the kitchen. "Cupid was here."

"I know. I saw him flying away."

"He was looking for you. He said to go out to the clearing and meet the others at the turkey door."

"Our meeting day isn't today. He didn't mention anything bad, did he?"

"No. He didn't seem to be himself though, even if he is going to be a father."

"He is? That's great! Did you ask him where he found a baby?"

"I did, but he didn't answer me."

"That's weird. I asked Billy about that today and he didn't answer me either."

"Maybe we need some kind of password or a spell or something."

"I'm still pretty sure there was a Stork and a cabbage patch involved."

"We could spend the whole day talking about this," Sally said, laughing at the silliness of the conversation.

"And we'd still be no closer to finding out where more of these come from," Jack said as he took the baby out of the carrier. "Miss him?"

"I sure did," Sally said as she took the baby from Jack's arms. "Enjoy your day out?"

"If he starts to cough later, give him some extra fluids. Billy was sick today and I really hope he didn't get the little guy sick too."

"Will he be ok to go out?"

"I'm not sure. Where are you going?"

"Valentine Town. Cupid said his mother could probably answer our forbidden baby question."

"Since when is it forbidden?" Jack asked with a slight grin.

"Since everyone we ask decides not to give us a straight answer," Sally said, noticing Jack rub at a closed eye socket. "Are you alright?"

"I'm a little sleepy. I'll take a nap after the meeting. I'm sure it won't be too long."

"So can I take the baby with me?"

"Of course. Just keep him bundled up and take the bag with diapers and formula and all. Good luck with the forbidden baby question."

"Good luck with your meeting."

"Thanks," Jack said before kissing Sally on the forehead. "Take your time, we'll probably be crowding the clearing for a bit anyway."

"I will."

Poor Jack seemed to be coming and going more than he could count these past hours. This time, it was to the same clearing he had described to Billy before. As Jack approached the turkey door, he saw most of the Council of Celebrations waiting for him. They all filled him in on what was going to happen. They were to quietly make their way to Jacob's house and ask him exactly what the problem was in Thanksgiving Town. Then, they would try to figure out exactly how to fix it.

They entered the Thanksgiving passage one by one. The holiday figures made sure to keep to the shadows until they reached Jacob's home. It took a while, since Cupid forgot which house it was. Eventually, they did find it, and he was quite surprised to see his friends in his world.

"Are you all mad! What if someone had seen you!"

"Nice to see you again too, Lad," Saint Patrick said in a sarcastic tone. "I'll be forgiving you for that, since you've been having problems."

"You told them?" Jacob asked Cupid when he flew in.

"Sorry. It kind of slipped out. If it makes you feel better, Patrick, Jack, and the rabbit have no idea what the problem is."

"Lovely. Well, make yourselves at home and pray the Elders don't stop by."

"Are they still mad that we thwarted them?" Cupid asked.

"No, I'm sure they were ecstatic," Santa Claus said dryly.

"I told them it was for their own good and they promised not to tell the town about what happened. It was for the best."

"If you say so," the Rabbi said with a nod from the Easter Bunny.

"What's going on?" Jack asked as he covered a yawn.

"Goodness, I don't know where to begin," Jacob started before a knock came at the door. "Sit tight."

Jacob opened the door carefully before sighing in relief. He let the cloaked figure in before closing the door once more. The figure stopped in the center of the room and made no sudden movements. Jacob figured the visitor was scared of the Council and told the person they meant no harm.

"Oh. Alright then," the visitor, a woman, said as she took off her hood.

"Kimi, what are you doing here?"

"Jacob, something else has happened at our village. Who are these people?"

"My friends. The Council of Celebrations. They're here to help."

"They are?" Kimi asked before turning around. "I don't know which one of you to thank first."

"We all appreciate it, Lass."

"Kimi, you can probably explain what happened to your village better than I can," Jacob said as another knock came at the door. "Go ahead," he said before he went to answer it again.

"My sister and her husband had a baby a month ago. They were very happy with him. He was, no, is a wonderful and delightful child. They named him Takoda, a friend to all, so that he would always get along with others in his life. But he vanished in the middle of the night a few days ago," Kimi said before stopping to collect her emotions, "The Elders were just at the village. They said that a demon took him and that he is going to feed the child to his clan of monsters unless our tribe can slay them."

"That's horrible," Jack said as he felt something in the back of his mind begin to click.

"It's tough to slay demons. Most of them are already dead," the Rabbi thought aloud.

"We have ways of fighting the dead. Our achak hastiin is our greatest weapon in this battle."

"Your what?" Santa Claus said.

"Spirit man. He is a healer and a warrior, one who has learned to send spirits to the Great Beyond. He surely knows how to slay the demons, or at least banish them to another world."

"Are you feeling alright, Lad?" Saint Patrick asked Jack, who looked about ready to pass out. "Kimi, lass, perhaps you should lighten up on the spirit talk, eh?"

"Oh! I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's alright," Jack said as he regained his composure.

"Damn, I bet the Underworld demons have been escaping again," Cupid said. "They always seem to do that."

"That's a good possibility," Santa Claus said as he saw Jacob enter with another female guest out of the corner of his eye. "Well, look who's the village ladies man."

"This is certainly a mixed bunch," Patience said as she got a good look around the room. "Oh, Kimi. I'm sorry about what happened to your sister."

"Thank you. These men are here to help us."

"Well, good luck to all of you. I'd like to get my hands on the rotten fiend that stole the baby myself."

"All of us would, believe me," Jacob said.

"Jacob, the Elders said that it was a demon that took Takoda," Kimi said. "If the worst should happen, we'll need to call in Pallaton."

"Your spirit man? I'm not sure. I still don't trust the Elders completely, but we will aid you in any way we can. Just say the word and we'll be there."

"Thank you again. I have to go, lest my sister thinks I have gone missing too."

"I'll go with her. The Elders would give her a hard time if they saw her walking alone. Come along, Dearie," Patience said to Kimi.

"Thank you again. All of you," Kimi said before she left with the colonist.

Jack tuned out the rest of the conversation after Patience and Kimi left. This poor woman was desperately looking for her nephew, the nephew _he_ took from the woods. Jack didn't mean to do it, he just figured the little boy had been abandoned there. He took that baby out of the goodness of his heart and now he was supposed to pay for it? No, Jack had to leave at once. He told the Council he promised the Mayor he'd look over some things and left. Jack had a lot of thinking to do.

Jack was in it deep this time. If he had come out moments before and said he had the baby, he was one-hundred percent sure they would have called the spirit man in and had him exorcized to the Great Beyond, but not before Cupid could pummel whatever life Jack had first. Jack faced this same risk if he told the truth at any other time. Jack realized what he had to do- find out who the real culprit was and make them confess. That was easier said than done.

"Jack, you can do this. Halloween Town's depending on you. Sally's depending on you. The baby's depending on you," Jack said before realizing something else. "Oh my God! Sally's on her way to Valentine Town. If Cupid finds her with the baby, she's done for!"

The Pumpkin King was off to save his future queen. He ran through brushes and trees until he found the clearing. Without thinking twice, he opened the door to Valentine Town and dove right in. He ran through the woods until he practically passed Sally and the baby. He only stopped because he tripped over a rock and fell over.

"Jack? Are you alright?" Sally asked as she walked over to him.

"Sally!" he exclaimed as he got up hugged her closely.

"I missed you too but you seem to have missed me more."

"The meeting ended early, so I figured I could take Ta- Little Jack back to the house."

"Jack, you could sleep and get rest if you go back alone. I'm fine with him, really."

"I know, it's just that um... uh... if Venus sees you with a baby-"

"Oh, right! I completely forgot," Sally said.

"Forgot what?" Jack asked.

"Venus did throw a tantrum about Cupid and Psyche's news. I'm sure it's bad enough I'm even asking her about babies. It's a good thing you changed your mind, Jack, or I would've gotten in a big heap of trouble."

"You can say that again."

"You take Little Jack home and I'll get the answer to the forbidden baby question. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Sally? Don't mention Little Jack. If Venus thinks he's ours, she might not give us an answer."

"I'll remember that. Be careful going home, Jack."

Jack waited until Sally was out of sight before rushing his way back to Halloween Town with Takoda. He was officially on the run. He would wait to tell Sally until she came home. She deserved to know what was going on, or at least, as much as Jack knew what was going on. If she wanted to hide out anywhere until this was settled, she could. Jack was not going to have her in danger because of another stupid mistake he made. The same went for Takoda. Jack would not rest until he found out who would wish the child harm.

Go get them, Jack! Can the Pumpkin King keep it together long enough to prove his innocence? Will the spirit man Pallaton be called in to exorcize the Halloween Townspeople? Will the forbidden baby question ever be answered? More to come, so stick around. (Re-edit Comment: I love tension. Don't you?)


	9. The Search for Answers

Author's Note: Readers, if I could make it snow heavily like this more often, I would. It's really giving me some free time. Alas, I do have things to do tomorrow that will certainly keep me from hyper updating, but I can't just leave you all hanging after that last part. Ok, ok, we all know I'm not one of the brilliant minds behind The Nightmare Before Christmas so I'll just cut to the chase this time.

It seemed to be ages since Sally had seen Venus' Temple. The last time she had visited Valentine Town, all of the worlds had been thrown into an all-out battle. Even so, the Temple looked better then than it did now. For one thing, Sally saw some things being thrown out on the steps, including statues of the goddess herself. The guards seemed to have abandoned the place, perhaps to keep their lives free from Venus' wrath. She was most certainly in a bad mood. Well, it was too late to turn back now.

"Hello? Venus?" Sally asked as she stepped around broken mirrors.

"Go away! I am taking no visitors!" exclaimed Venus from the depths of the temple.

"I'm sorry to bother you, I need help."

"Who DARES to interrupt me in my divine moping?"

"Please? I came all the way from Halloween Town."

As soon as Sally mentioned Halloween Town, she heard footsteps head towards her. She looked ahead to see curtains being drawn and Venus stepping through them. From afar, she seemed to look relatively well. Up close was a different story. Venus has a disheveled look about her; she appeared as if she had been crying for days and made no attempt to fix her hair or tunic. When she wasn't crying into a handkerchief, she was waving her hand at any mirrors that were left and forcing them to fall on the ground.

"Sally?" Venus asked before rushing her pace and stopping in front of the rag doll. "Sally! Love, it's been ages. How have you been? Is that a ring on your finger?"

"Venus, are you well?"

"Dear, you do not want to know what troubles me."

"I sort of already do."

"That wretched son of mine! He still has to learn to keep his mouth shut. How dare he make me, ME, the Goddess of Love and Beauty into a grandmother! It's a sin!"

"It is?"

"Of course! I cannot show signs of aging, I must be forever youthful. What grandmother do you know is youthful? I will tell you right now: None!"

"You are."

"I am? You are not just saying that, are you?"

"No. You look the same as you did when I met you, albeit a little messier."

"Divine moping takes a lot out of me, I do it so much."

"Maybe you should take a break. I have something you can help me with if you'd like."

"That is a smashing idea. Follow me. We can talk in the gardens."

Venus led Sally to a table and two chairs set up in a part of the gardens close to the Valentine Lake. As they sat down, they watched as ducks and their little ducklings took to swimming around in the water. Venus threw some bread to them and smiled before sitting down. She was going to be useful to someone. As a Goddess in a major age crisis, that was very reassuring.

"Before we begin, would you like some iced tea? Hot tea is not suited for this gorgeous weather."

"That would be nice. Thank you."

Venus clapped her hands at once. A cherub flew to her side and took the order for two iced teas. In a split-second, the cherub had returned with two glasses of tea and ice and then left the women to their conversation. Venus drank some before getting back to business.

"Now, what is it that you need?"

"I'm sorry, but this does concern babies."

"Babies are a part of love, Sally. Even my current situation cannot change that. Do not fear any ill reaction on my part," Venus said.

"Where do they come from?" Sally asked, noticing Venus begin to stifle laughter.

"Oh, my dear, I appreciate the joke. Now, what is your real question?"

"That was it."

"You are serious?"

"Very. Jack has been talking about starting a family a while after we marry. We have no clue how to go about finding a baby of our own."

"Finding a baby? Love, one does not find a baby of his or her own. Babies have to be made."

"How?"

"Oh my. Tell me, do you and Jack, um... you know."

"Know what?"

"Oh, how am I going to put this?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"I know! Do you and Jack share a bed?" Venus asked as she lifted the glass of iced tea to her mouth.

"Yes. Every night," Sally said as she watched Venus spit out the tea she was just drinking. "Is something wrong?"

"Every night! To be honest, I never took you for that kind of a girl. Before marriage too. Well, I am all for love at any time, you just go on."

"I don't understand," Sally said as she took a sip of tea. "All we do is sleep."

"Not sleep, Sally. The other thing couples do in bed."

"The other thing? Jack reads, but that's about it."

"Lords, gods, and major deities! Love, do I have to spell it out for you? I am strictly referring to, erm, lean in a bit."

Sally did so and let Venus whisper something to her. Sally leaned away again to process the new word Venus had told her. Nope. She had no idea what that was and was sure Jack didn't know what it was either. Venus noticed the rag doll's blank look and began to put two and two together.

"You've never heard of that word before today, have you?"

"Never," Sally said as she shook her head.

"You never have any urges for Jack, any yearnings for his body?"

"Of course, all we do is kiss and cuddle."

"You poor innocent creature," Venus said as she looked down at her teas before looking back at Sally once more, "Jack is a skeleton, correct?"

"That's right."

"Nothing abnormally un-skeleton about him?"

"Not to my knowledge."

"That could be a problem."

"Why? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Sally, I am afraid I will need to see both you and Jack to continue this discussion."

"Do you promise to give me an answer then?"

"I swear it. I say you have given me quite a task."

"I'm sorry," Sally apologized.

"No need to fret about it. It will take my mind off other things. I appreciate the work. Perhaps I can get myself together as well," Venus said.

"I should be on my way back home. Thank you, Venus."

"Tell Jack I said hello."

Sally nodded to the goddess before leaving the temple. It was a shame that the forbidden baby question still had no clear answer. It just lead to more questions. Like that word Venus whispered to her. Sally was both intrigued and frightened by it. It sounded like a hiss, and yet it somehow had a connection with babies. Things started to make less and less sense for Sally. It didn't get much better when she entered Skellington Manor and saw an array of boxes and bags strewn about the floor.

"Jack? What's going on?" Sally asked cautiously as she looked around. "Where are you?"

"Did you come alone?" Jack asked as he snuck up behind her.

"AH! Don't do that. Of course I did. What's the matter?"

"Sally, you and the baby need to get out of here as soon as possible."

"What's going on, Jack?"

"You're going to need to sit down for this."

"Alright," Sally said as she took a seat on the couch next to the sleeping infant.

"There's good news and bad news," Jack started before clearing his throat, "The good news is I found out where Little Jack's real parents are."

"You did? Jack, that's wonderful. Is that why you're packing? That's so sweet of you, getting ready so quickly to take him home."

"The bad news is that we can't return him. Not yet."

"Why not?"

"Because if we return him now, we'll be in serious danger. Everyone in town too."

"That's ridiculous, Jack."

"No it isn't. Listen, you were right about Cupid not being himself. Something horrible happened in Thanksgiving Town and the baby is right in the middle of it."

"How can he be? All he does is eat, sleep, and wet himself," Sally said, growing tense at Jack's jittery behavior.

"A baby was stolen from that world. Then, I find a baby in the woods. It fits! I'm an accomplice to kidnappers."

"Jack, calm down."

"This is horrible. The abductors must have left the baby out in the woods to die and I rescued it. If the Council finds me with him they'll exorcize me to the Great Beyond!" Jack exclaimed as he started to hyperventilate.

"Jack, you're the one who should sit down," Sally said as she got up and placed Jack where she had been sitting, "Now calmly tell me all you know."

Jack started from the top. He had found the baby in the woods and thought he was abandoned. The nice thing to do would have been to take him in and find him a suitable home. What Jack had found out was that the baby was taken away from his Native parents in the middle of the night. His name was Takoda and he was a resident of the Thanksgiving World, so the Council of Celebrations was called in to investigate the crime. While they were in town, they were informed that the Elders of Thanksgiving Town had told the Native tribe that a demon had stolen the child to feed to other demons. That meant that someone had seen Jack take the baby and was framing him for the crime.

"That's not even the worst part. The Natives have a spirit man who specializes in hunting demons and undead spirits. If they think our "town of demons" wanted to eat the baby, they plan to send him to get rid of us. They want to send us to the Great Beyond, wherever that is. I'm scared, I really am."

"That would explain the bags," Sally said with a deep sigh, "It's a shame I won't be using them."

"Sally, you can't stay this time. I mean it."

"Jack, I'm not going to run away and let you handle this on your own. We're in this together. If you're going to the Great Beyond, then I'm going with you."

"What about Takoda? If he's found here then Halloween Town's condemned to the Great Beyond altogether."

"Jack, I'm only going to ask this once and you had better be honest with me. Did you kidnap the baby yourself? Is that why you're so scared?"

"No. I swear, I only wanted to help him. If he had stayed out in the woods he would have died, just as his kidnappers would have wished."

"Jack, sometimes you're too caring for your own good," Sally said as she sat down next to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "Do you have any other plans besides sending me away, because that one isn't going to work."

"I'm going to hunt down the kidnappers myself. My guess is they're from the same world, but who could have done something so horrible from there? Who?"

As Jack pondered that question and Sally comforted him, the four perpetrators were celebrating in the home of the Grand Elder. They had to make a trip to the Native village and actually talk to those people, but the deed was done. The Natives were convinced demons had taken Takoda and they were all ready to exorcize the diabolical abductors. All of the blame and suspicion was off of them, and they were happy. Well, three of them were.

"Come now, Daniel, we're doing a good thing," Robert said as he poured more mead into his fellow Elder's cup.

"Thou should not drink so much, it invites the devil," Grand Elder Joseph said.

"It is always 'thou should not' with you, live a little."

"I am not a hedonist such as thou, Robert."

"Daniel, we did the best for the village. We will all have more land when this affair is over and that is important for the villagers to grow crops," John said before pausing for a drink, "We would not want another winter like our first one here."

"The Natives were the ones who helped us that winter," Daniel said in a depressed tone.

"We would have been better without the savages if thou wouldst ask me."

"When our people were dying of starvation, the Natives took us in and gave us their own food. Is this the proper way to thank them?"

"Bah! Thou art too soft on those pagans. They are all going to Hell in the end. We are just helping them get there faster."

"I feel ill," Daniel said, "Excuse me, fellow Elders."

Daniel left without listening to any protest from the others. This situation was heavy on his heart. Everything he had ever believed in about honesty and lying was flipped upside down. His people deserved a better leader than him. He would have to come clean about the Native child's disappearance, that was clear to him. The problem was how, and to whom. Daniel almost gave up entirely when he managed to come across a woman traveling alone and decided to speak to her.

"You know, it isn't safe for women to walk the woods alone."

"If you must know, I was taking a friend home," the woman said. "Oh, my apologies, Elder."

"Come now, Patience, you knew me before I was an Elder."

"Barely, from the way you behave, Daniel."

"Please, Patience? We're family, cousins."

"Yes, and I'm sure Aunt Grace would have loved to see her son now. How could you join those men, those old fools?"

"I wanted to be a leader more than anything else. I'm afraid I'm not suited for it."

"Your poor mother raised you to be a good man, Daniel. You used to be so gentle and kind back in England."

"I didn't stop you to get a lecture."

"Now you know how I feel every time your associates decide to bother me for the smallest things."

"Patience, I have something to tell you," Daniel started before he heard another voice.

"There you are!" exclaimed Robert, who ran up to Daniel and smacked him on the shoulder lightly. "We were getting worried about you back at the meeting."

"I was just speaking to my cousin. Remember, Patience, I have some, er, chores for you to help me with. Meet me at my house later on and I'll tell you all about them."

"Right," Patience said as she watched her cousin reluctantly return to his meeting.

Patience smiled to herself. Deep down she knew Daniel could not be all bad. He wanted power and found out the problems that came with it. Still, he was acting rather secretive. Patience was already agitated at knowing she'd have to wait to find out the information. She did know at least one thing. If what Daniel had to say was dumb, she would give him quite a good slap across the face and call it a day.

Come on, Danny Boy, show us your good side. Can Daniel make a confession without being watched by the fellow Elders? Will Jack and Sally return the baby before it's too late? Will our favorite couple make their appointment with Venus? Well, there's only one way to find out, read on next time. (Re-edit Comment: Nothing like innuendo and drinking all in one chapter. All that and the Great Beyond!)


	10. The Hunter, the Spook, and the Prisoners

Author's Note: I'm taking some time out from re-editing to update. Isn't that swell? What's really swell is The Nightmare Before Christmas. It was a poem, then a movie, then an object of worship for rabid fans such as myself. Its characters, songs, settings, and situations belong to it and the wonderful people that brought it to life, including Tim Burton and Danny Elfman. We all know that, but I'm just reiterating it since if I don't and on the quadrillion-to-one chance I'll get sued, the only thing I own is my soul, and I'd like to keep that thank you very much.

As Patience made her way to Daniel's house, plans were being made in the Native village to deal with the demonic kidnappers. The men gathered outside the dwelling of Pallaton anxiously awaiting what the spirit man would do. See, he was supposed to have told them his plans earlier, had someone not delayed him. That someone was none other than the missing child's aunt.

"Pallaton, reconsider all of this," Kimi said as she blocked the spirit man's exit, despite the fact she was much shorter than him and might not have been able to take him by force.

"You're one to talk," said the spirit man as he squared his brown eyes, "You just went to that settlement to beg Jacob to allow me to help. I recall that he said yes."

"Jacob still does not trust his Elders, neither do I."

"I trust men more than I trust demons."

"Those men are demons."

"Kimi, Takoda is in danger, a danger only I might be able to handle. You want your nephew to be safe, don't you?"

"Of course I do. I also want the truth, Pallaton. You will be no better than those old fools if you spill the blood of the innocent."

"Demons are never innocent. If you excuse me, I have to meet with the chief."

With that, Pallaton finally brushed past Kimi and stepped out to the crowd. He looked as fierce as his prey in the light of the setting sun as he approached the center of the village. The men waiting for him gracefully made a spaced themselves to form a path as Pallaton approached an older man of the tribe. This man had long white hair tired with leather and held a wooden staff covered with shells and feathers in his hands.

"Pallaton, is it true you are to find our missing boy?"

"Yes, Chief Mingan. I have finished my training as an achak hastiin. It will be an honor to defeat the demons that have disgraced our tribe and bring Takoda home."

"You will need this," Chief Mingan said as he handed Pallaton the staff, "It has been given the blessing of the entire village. Most important of all, Nitis and Kanti have blessed it."

"Are they here?" Pallaton asked.

"Look behind you," the chief said.

Pallaton turned around to see a Native couple slowly approaching him. The husband seemed close to carrying his grief-stricken wife. The woman could barely do anything but cry, she was truly a mother who feared for the life of her child. The man himself held in his emotions, but it was obvious that he too was worried about his son.

"Pallaton, on behalf of Kanti and myself, we thank you," said the husband.

"I will have your son with me when I return, Nitis. He must surely have missed both of you."

"Be careful, Pallaton," Kanti said as she began to control herself, "Bring my baby home."

"I swear to bring him back on my honor as an achak hastiin. Do not think that those who did this to him, to you, will go unpunished," Pallaton said before bowing to the couple and then turning to face the crowd, "I leave you now as a man on a mission. I hope to return as a hero. I bid you all farewell."

With that, Pallaton left the village, with his staff in hand and head held high in pride. However, he had hardly gotten into the woods when he was approached by Kimi again. Pallaton was starting to have doubts about Kimi's true feelings about her nephew. At least, before she hugged the spirit man.

"What are you doing?"

"Pallaton, I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate this."

"I think the gratitude in my home was enough."

"Please, Pallaton, be careful and trust your instincts. If you feel something to be good, than do not harm it. If you feel evil, than fight it as well as you can. Looks can be deceiving."

"Kimi, I'm not going after the Elders of the Pilgrim Settlement. Nothing you say is going to make me do that."

"Must you always think I'm trying to order you around?"

"Probably because you are."

"I am not."

"You are an absolutely insufferable woman."

"Too bad. If you are going to be so stubborn-"

"You are the stubborn one."

"Then I'll have no choice but to go with you," Kimi finished.

"No, Kimi. This isn't a hunt or a visit to Jacob."

"If you thought I was really going to stand by and let others save my nephew, then you obviously do not know me well."

"Just don't complain when you realize this isn't as easy as you think it is."

Kimi let out a frustrated sigh before following the spirit man. However, she knew this was the only way she could get Pallaton to eventually check on the Puritan Elders. As horrible as it was to hear Takoda had been taken by demons, the story never really did sit that well with Kimi.

Speaking of "demons", Jack and Sally had been trying to come up with a good way to avoid a permanent trip to the Great Beyond. Poor Jack was still shaken over his meeting with the other Holiday Leaders before. Even so, he had managed to come up with something that could very well work.

"Billy. We can leave Takoda with Billy," Jack said.

"Are you sure about that?" Sally asked as she cradled the baby in her arms, "You did say he was sick."

"Billy can handle it. Besides, if Takoda falls ill in the Real World, they have medicine there to cure him. The baby is better off there until I can find the real kidnappers."

"Will Billy mind?"

"He probably will, but right now, that's my best plan."

"Jack, you're not taking him out to the Real World tonight, are you? You need rest."

"I can't rest now. Not with the threat of the Great Beyond looming over my skull," Jack said as he picked up the carrier and motioned for Sally to place Takoda inside of it.

"If you say so," Sally said as she was about to put the baby in the carrier.

She would have done so, had Zero's barks not caught her attention at the moment. They came from outside of the house, yet were loud enough to be heard within. Jack put the carrier down for a moment and opened the front door to see where exactly Zero was. It turned out the Zero was at the bottom of the steps, but he was not alone. The spectral canine glided into the house, leaving a tall figure in a white sheet with two holes punched out for eyes waiting to come in.

"Billy?" Jack asked the figure before it sneezed.

"Booooooooo," the figure said as it pathetically flailed its arms around, one of them carrying a plastic bag, "I'm not Billy. I'm a ghost. A spooooky ghost."

"That is the most pathetic ghost costume I have ever seen on an adult," Jack said as he smacked his forehead.

"Come on, you know I hated Halloween for most of my life," Billy said before he coughed, "Can I come in?"

"Quickly."

Billy ran up the steps, sensing that for once, Jack was the one without patience. When he got inside, Billy removed the sheet and looked around the Pumpkin King's house. He nodded politely to the blue-skinned, stitched woman carrying Little Jack before turning to face, well, Big Jack.

"I kinda felt guilty about getting the little fella sick, so I brought the medicine early," Billy said before noticing the worried look on Jack's face, "Something wrong?"

"Did anyone see you when you got here?"

"No. If it's about the costume, you try coming up with something good on short notice."

"Alright. Billy, you wouldn't mind taking care of Takoda for a while, would you?" Jack asked, regaining some patience to ask the question.

"Who's Takoda?"

"He is," Sally said as she nodded to the baby she was carrying.

"I thought he was Little Jack," Billy said.

"Well his name is Takoda now," Jack said in an exasperated tone. "Does the name really matter? Does it?"

"Ma'am, is changing a kid's name like this normal here?" Billy asked Sally.

"It's a long story," Sally replied with a weak smile.

"One I'd like to hear, Jack," Billy said, turning his attention to the skeleton.

"Fine, but don't say she didn't warn you."

Billy asked for quite a lot. By the time he had heard every detail of Takoda's journeys from the woods to Halloween Town, It was close to ten. Billy certainly had not been planning to stay at Jack's for that long, but it seemed wrong to leave the skeleton in such a predicament. Right now, Billy was the only one who could help the Pumpkin King in spite of all their past differences. He was more than willing to aid Jack, but not before giving him some advice.

"Jack, you better get some sleep when I take this kid. I didn't think you could look deader until I saw you now."

"I don't look that sleep-deprived, do I?" Jack asked Sally.

"Well, you could use a nap before you get cranky."

"I think it's a little late for that, ma'am."

"With all due respect, shut up, Billy," Jack said as he massaged his temples, earning a shocked gasp from Sally.

"See? I told you it was late," Billy saidto Sallybefore Takoda began to stir, "Looks like Jack's not the only one."

"Here, you can stay with your Uncle Billy for a few minutes," Sally said as she passed Takoda to him, "Please, try not to cough on him."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to make some formula, he's obviously hungry."

"I got ya," Billy said as he and Jack watched the rag doll enter the kitchen, "So, that's your hopeful mom-to-be?"

"If you ever tell us where babies come from."

"Now's not the time."

"It's never the time with you," Jack complained.

"Hush up and go to sleep," Billy advised as the Pumpkin King yawned.

"I can't. Not like this."

"Well, we can talk."

"About what?"

"Anything to take your mind off of this whole mess. It's not like I'm leaving anytime soon."

"Alright," Jack said as he stretched and yawned, "Did I ever tell you about the time I was Sandy, I mean, Santa Claus?"

"Nope. I'd remember something as weird as that," Billy pointed out.

"It wasn't weird," Jack said before noticing Billy's skeptical facial expression, "Ok, it was. But I had good intentions. Honest."

Billy had even more of a night of storytelling ahead of him. Still, it was much more entertaining than what Patience had to deal with. It was already getting late and Daniel still had not come home from his Elders meeting. Patience was going to leave and forget the whole thing when she heard the door open and saw her cousin creep in.

"About time you got here," she said.

"Cousin, I think your mother should have named you Impatience," Daniel said.

"Daniel, I know you wanted to talk, and I'm here now."

"Right. Well, I don't know how to put this."

"Words would be nice."

"Must you be so critical?"

"Must you beat around the bush so much?"

"Fine. Patience, you have to swear to keep your mouth shut about this."

"It's about the baby, isn't it?"

"You said it, not I."

"Get on with it, Daniel."

"The Native child was not initially taken by demons."

"Who did take him then?"

"I did."

"WHAT?" Patience exclaimed, "Daniel, how could you?"

"I had to, Patience. The Elders wanted to cast me out of the group."

"This is low, Daniel, very low."

"You don't understand. The Elders felt I was weak in the whole situation with Lady Eris."

"Who, pray tell, is she?"

"It does not matter. The point is they wanted me to show my loyalty to them by helping to carry out their plan for domination," Daniel said before holding his hand to his mouth, "Oh, Lord. I've said too much."

"Domination? Are they mad?"

"They want the Natives gone so that we can conquer the land. They felt that if the Natives attacked our village looking for one of their own, we could strike back and, unfortunately, kill the entire tribe. They decided that our best bet would be to kidnap the child Takoda. He is only one month old, so he would not put up a fight, and the Natives care deeply for their children. It made sense that all of them would look for Takoda."

"You disgust me."

"Patience, please. I haven't finished. The child is still alive. The plan was for all of us to abandon him in the woods and leave him to die in the cold. I felt badly for him, so I swaddled him up in a blanket when the others weren't looking to at least give the poor child some comfort. You see, someone picked him up out of the woods that day."

"Let me guess, a demon?"

"Actually, yes. Elder John saw the tall skeletal demon from beyond the Pumpkin Door take him into his care."

"Oh, Lord," Patience said, "He was here tonight, in Jacob's house. Kimi was talking about sending the spirit man to look for Takoda. He looked horrified when I saw him, the poor thing. To think, he's probably wondering how to bring Takoda home now with everyone looking to banish him."

"He is a good man, well, dead man. I feel horrible for what we Elders have done to him."

"Do you, now?" asked a voice not of Daniel's or Patience's.

The cousins turned to see that Elder Robert had just walked into the house. He was not alone. Elder John and Grand Elder Joseph were with him. All of them looked about ready to attack Daniel, but they restrained themselves.

"We were wondering why you left so soon, Daniel," Robert said.

"This isn't what it appears to be," Daniel said.

"Please, we heard the whole thing. It's amazing how people can become so caught up in conversation," John said.

"You brutes!" Patience exclaimed as she jumped to attack, only to be held back by Daniel.

"Enough of thy blasphemy, Patience Carrington," said Joseph. "Thou art hereby accused of witchcraft."

"On what grounds?"

"On the grounds that we cannot have you telling anyone else of what transpired this night," Robert said, "Do not bother trying to fight it, we can have you hanged in two days time."

"Don't let them do this to me, Daniel!"

"He cannot help you. He's being hanged as well, for treason."

"I am no traitor."

"No, just a bloody savage lover," Robert said before being cut off by the Grand Elder.

"Enough, Robert. Thou and John can escort the prisoners to the jailhouse. We will have the trial tomorrow, and the execution the day after," the Grand Elder said.

Without any more protest, Patience and Daniel were taken to jail. No one else in the settlement knew of the injustice taking place right under their noses. As far as they knew, they would be waking up to quite a scandal the next morning.

Oh NO! The only two people who know the truth and the whole truth are going to jail! This is bad. Will Jacob save his lady love from the gallows? In turn, can Patience and Daniel prove Jack's innocence? And will the Pumpkin King ever sleep again? More to come, so stick around. (Re-edit Comment: I loved the mix in this chapter too. Jail and a crappy costume. Sweet.)


	11. Misunderstandings

Author's Note: Who's ready for more? I know I am. The Nightmare Before Christmas is a super spiffalicious film with an equally spiffalicious following. You have all been so nice to me, so the Readers deserve as much thanks from me as Tim Burton, Danny Elfman, Disney, Touchstone, and Capcom. They inspired me, but you all kept me going. Thanks guys. I hope you're having as much fun reading as I am writing.

At least the Thanksgiving Townsfolk had a sleep to wake from. Jack Skellington was currently reliving some of his less than proud moments of his afterlife to entertain a mortal and a hungry infant. Sally seemed to be taking forever with the formula. By the time she came back, Jack was already wrapping up the tale of his Christmas misadventure.

"So that's basically what happened. I had a few laughs, gave out some shrunken heads and Halloween-made toys, got blown up, and saved Santa Claus from a bug-filled gambler. Oh, and I realized what was meant to fill that empty space I had. Well, _who_ to be exact," Jack said proudly.

"Damn," Billy said bluntly.

"Hey, watch your language in front of the baby."

"Sorry," Billy said before pausing in thought for a moment."How could I have missed all of that?"

"Well, you don't have kids. I only visited houses with kids that night. You probably slept right through it."

"The one night I could have shown the world Mr. Unlucky and I slept through it. Jack, that deserves another damn."

"I hope I didn't take too long," Sally said as she walked into the room with a tray carrying a bottle and a mug.

"Aw, you didn't have to make me anything, ma'am."

"Actually, this tea is for Jack. I'm sorry," Sally said as she allowed Jack to take the mug, "If you'd like anything-"

"It's alright. I'll just feed the kid," Billy said as he grabbed the bottle and began to feed Takoda, "I'll be gone as soon as I'm done with this."

"Thanks Billy, we appreciate it," Jack said before taking a sip of tea and looking as if it was the worst thing he had ever tasted in his afterlife.

"Is something wrong, Jack?" Sally asked.

"Just needs some sugar," Jack said as he barely contained coughs.

Billy noticed Sally wring her hands nervously as Jack got up. He took his mug into the kitchen in order to put sugar in his tea. His girlfriend sure seemed to look nervous about all of this. Billy figured it was normal for them and decided not to intrude. Instead he continued to give Takoda his formula. At least, until loud thud came from the kitchen.

"What the hell was that?" Billy exclaimed before handing the baby to a reluctant Sally and running to the kitchento findi Jack on the floor next to a broken mug and spilled tea, "Holy crap, he's dead!" Billy yelled as soon as the thought registered in his mind.

"Billy, wait," Sally said as she briskly followed him with Takoda in her arms.

"Wait? You killed him with that tea of evil! I didn't think it was possible to kill a skeleton, but you did it, ma'am."

"He's not dead. Well, he is dead, but not _dead_ dead."

"Look at him!" Billy exclaimed before bending over to Jack and slapping him on the face a few times."Jack, speak to me!"

"Please calm down," Sally said as she approached Billy. "And could you stop slapping him?"

"Get away from me!" Billy exclaimed as he backed away from Jack and into the table, toppling over a suspicious jar,"Oh dear God! You poisoned the milk with that stuff too, didn't you! Listen lady, I don't know what your deal is, but I'm gonna get you before you get me."

"Jack was right about you. You never let anyone tell their side of the story."

"I do too!"

"Then you should know that Deadly Nightshade-"

"DEADLY? This just keeps getting better."

"Is a strong sedative."

"Only a sedative?"

"Yes," Sally said, as if that was a widely known fact.

"So he's not deader than dead?" Billy asked, still not sure of Sally deserved his trust at the moment.

"Of course not. I was just trying to get him to sleep."

"Ever hear of warm milk or counting sheep, lady?"

"I have a name. It's Sally. Besides, you of all people should know how persistent Jack can be when he gets an idea in his head. If he's ever going to function, he needs to sleep and he wasn't going to get any on his own anytime soon."

"Is the kid going to be taking any naps like that?"

"No. I have no idea what the Deadly Nightshade would do to him and I don't want to find out like this," Sally said as she cradled Takoda.

"Well now what do we do with Jack?"

"Get him to bed, I suppose. I doubt he'd like to wake up on the floor."

"Where's his bed?" Billy asked.

"Up the spiral staircase," Sally replied.

"Of course. Even if he's asleep he can never make things easy for me," Billy said as he picked up the knocked out Pumpkin King, "Nighty, night Jack."

Jack finally got the sleep he needed by surprise. Neither Sally or Billy knew if he would wake up remembering anything about the slightly tainted tea. For now, it was best to let him rest and ask questions later.

At the moment, Jack seemed to be the only one of the Council sleeping. All of the other leaders were busy planning and searching all over their worlds for the little child. Cupid was no different. This of course meant two main visits. One to Saint Valentine and another to, may the gods help him, his mother. Cupid decided to call upon Valentine first. Luckily, the saint was in one of those rare in-between moments of preserving love.

"May I come in?" Cupid asked before the saint let him into his humble abode.

"Of course," Saint Valentine said, "Make yourself at home. You did an excellent job delivering love this year, by the way. Especially with all of the distractions."

"Thank you. Saint Valentine, you know many things, right?"

"That depends on what you ask me."

"Well, a child has gone missing from another of the Holiday Worlds and the Council is in charge of returning him to his parents."

"If you want to me locate the child, I cannot, nor will I do so in the first place."

"Why not?"

"Why would I after what happened just two months ago? Meddling is a dangerous thing, Cupid."

"I know, but this is an emergency."

"Cupid, you are in a complicated emotional state right now. I do not want you getting involved in things that might make your temper flare."

"Saint Valentine, I can handle it."

"Be that as it may, I am not going to contribute to another disaster."

"Fine, be that way," Cupid said as he began to leave.

"Be careful, Cupid. For once, let your head make decisions instead of your heart," Saint Valentine said as the youth took off for his mother's Temple.

Alas, Saint Valentine's words fell on deaf ears. Cupid was far too worried about little Takoda's fate to listen. Surely his mother would at least match him in outrage. Little did he know how fateful this visit to her would be.

"Well, here goes nothing," Cupid said to himself as he entered the Temple to find his mother looking absolutely stunning and happy, "Mother?"

"My beloved son!" Venus exclaimed as she ran over to Cupid and gave him a hug.

"Are you sick?"

"Sick? Nonsense! I feel absolutely fabulous."

"I see you are not that upset over being a grandmother anymore."

"Upset over a little baby? Cupid, I have seen today how desperately some people desire children and I decided that your impending fatherhood is more of a gift than a curse."

"Mother, I am proud of you."

"Thank you. Now, what is it that you wished to see me about?"

"Have you heard anything about a missing child?"

"Missing? No, I cannot say I have."

"Oh. You see, a child was kidnapped from the Thanksgiving World by demons and the Council is in charge of finding him."

"Really?" Venus asked as a dark look came across her face.

"I know. It has upset everyone."

"I see. Cupid, son, has it upset some member of the Council more than others?"

"Well, me of course. I think the whole situation is atrocious."

"Anyone else?"

"Jacob obviously. It took place in his world. And do not get me started on Jack."

"Jack? Is he out of sorts about this too?"

"Well, the whole punishment made for the demons disturbed him greatly. Then again, the poor fellow is dead, so of course that would scare him more than anyone else."

"Oh my. Lords, gods, and major deities," Venus mumbled.

"Mother? What is it?"

"It all fits. They could not have a child of their own, so they took one."

"What are you talking about?"

"Sally visited me today. She said she wanted to know where she could find a baby for herself and Jack. I tried to tell her about the facts of life, but I could not. I told her to come back with Jack another time to explain things more clearly. Cupid, I am afraid to say that they are the ones with that child."

Cupid was taken aback by his mother's words. Suddenly, Cupid could see the entire situation playing in front of him. He himself had been asked by Sally where babies could be found. It was so obvious now. Jack had taken the child to appease his people's strange eating habits. They must have wanted more, and being dead, had no recollection of where babies came from. So they sent their leaders, the Pumpkin King and his future Queen, to seek where babies came from in order to kidnap more of them and... no. The thought was too horrible to bear.

"He did it. Jack's the kidnapper. That is why he was so frightened by the punishment and so sleep deprived. If he is sleep deprived that must mean Takoda is still alive since babies have a tendency to keep their parents up all night. They have not eaten him yet!"

"Cupid, you are rambling."

"Mother, it will take too long to explain, but I have to leave. Takoda needs me."

Venus could not get another word in edgewise. The mistaken God of Love had already flown off to gather the rest of the Council of Celebrations. No demons were going to eat Takoda on his watch. If this meant sending Halloween Town to the Great Beyond, so be it.

This can't be good. Will Cupid realize the truth before he makes a horrible mistake? Can Jack wake up in time to catch the real kidnappers? What if Billy gets caught up in this entire mess too? Only one way to find out, folks. (Re-edit Comment: Mmmmmm... extended scene goodness. Now with slap-happy Billy!)


	12. Wrongfully Accused

Author's Note: Update time! It seems that Jack is finally getting some sleep, but knowing how these stories of mine tend to go, it might not last too long. The Nightmare Before Christmas is a wonderful film. If you haven't seen it, shame on you! Go pick up the dvd and watch and sing and stuff. It was crafted by Tim Burton with music by Danny Elfman. The people who put it in theaters are from Disney and Touchstone Pictures. There's word of a game from Capcom coming out in, respectively, October, so be on the lookout for that too. All that follows came from me! So it might not be as good, but I'll let all of you decide that.

As Cupid went on his misguided mission, Billy Colby had just climbed back down the spiral staircase. Jack was out cold, so it was no use saying goodbye to him now. Billy planned on just taking the child and leaving. That of course meant talking to Jack's girlfriend again. Boy, she scared the living daylights out of him back there. Is this is what people who loved Jack did to him? Billy hated to think what the skeleton's enemies ever had in store.

"Well, Sally, I better take the kid and get a move on," Billy said as his eyes nervously darted around the room.

"Are you sure?" Sally asked as she began to place Takoda in the carrier, "Would you like-"

"Hell no."

"I was going to offer you a jacket, but I suppose you don't want one. By the way, watch your language around the baby."

"Sorry. You're not going to force feed me anything for that, are you?"

"No. Am I supposed to?"

"Nope."

"Are all mortals so... fidgety like you?" Sally asked, curious to get into a mortal mind.

"Listen, I just saw you poison your boyfriend," Billy said in a slightly defensive tone.

"He's not poisoned, just sleeping. I thought you were beginning to trust me again."

"Sally, ma'am, if youhad my life, you'd constantly be on your toes too. Is he ready to go?"

"Yes. Don't forget your, um, costume."

"I get it. It's a bad costume. Whoop de doo," Billy said, sniffling as he threw the sheet on again.

"If you put some ketchup on it, you could be a bloody ghost," Sally said.

"Well, I didn't come here to get Halloween costume advice."

"You're right," Sally said as she passed him the carrier, "Are you sure he'll be ok with you?"

"I'm sure," Billy said, finally beginning to calm down.

"I'm sorry for the scare. I'm not used to scaring people at all," Sally said with a heavy sigh.

"You did pretty well for a newbie then."

"Thank you."

Billy would have said something else had he not heard the most piercing scream ever to come across his ears. At first, he thought it was the baby. However, it was more of a woman's scream than anything. Judging from the look on Sally's face, she seemed to know exactly what it was. She motioned for Billy to move to the couch with the carrier and stay there quietly while she answered the door.

"Hello?"

"Hey there, Sally!" exclaimed the Mayor with a wide grin. "Good evenin'!"

"Good evening to you too, Mayor."

"Is Jack home? I've come up with some more decorating ideas I'd like to show him."

"Jack isn't feeling well at the moment. I'm sorry, Mayor."

"Not feeling well?" the mayor asked, his head turning around as the thought registered in his mind.

"Holy crap! His head turned around!" Billy exclaimed before remembering he was supposed to be quiet.

"Am I interrupting something?" the Mayor asked as he peeked inside.

"That's Billy. He's a friend of Jack's. Billy was just leaving, weren't you, Billy?"

"Yeah, sure. Whatever. Boooooooooo."

"I've never seen a ghost quite like that one before," the Mayor said in a tone of sincere pity.

"I'm a great ghost!"

"That's the spirit," the Mayor said as he turned his head around and winked at the 'ghost', "I see you're busy with your guest. I'll come back later. Have fun showing him around."

"I will, Mayor."

Billy didn't appreciate looking like a spook who needed first-level scaring lessons. If there was one thing he hated more than anything else, it was feeling like the odd man out. This was supposed to be the place where his soul would one day live. He couldn't just leave it now, especially when all the creatures came out to play at night. No, Billy couldn't fight the temptation. As soon as the Mayor was out of sight, he told Sally that he wanted her to show him around town.

"I can't do that, Billy. Jack would wake up all alone with a headache and wondering where we went."

"Come on! I want to see what my afterlife has in store for me."

"I don't know if that's allowed."

"What's the worst that could happen?" Billy asked."What? Is the Costume Police going to arrest me?"

"A lot can go on, Billy. Believe me," Sally warned.

"We can take the kid with us. You show me around for a bit and then I'll take him home. I promise."

"Well... alright. But we have to hurry. I don't know how long that Nightshade will last on Jack."

Billy smiled to himself with glee as he, Sally, and Takoda left Skellington Manor for a tour of Halloween Town. At least he was guaranteed an interesting evening. Back in Thanksgiving Town, two poor souls weren't having any fun at all.

"What kind of fool leaves his front door unlocked at night?" Patience asked in a huff as she plopped down in a corner of the cell.

"I didn't think they would follow me," Daniel said.

"You're still a fool."

"I will be a dead fool if we cannot come up with a way to get out of here."

"You and the Elders just couldn't share the land with the Natives, could you? It _had_ to be all yours."

"Patience, you have no idea how many times I tried to get the Elders to compromise. They never listened to me."

"Then why did you listen to them and carry out their plans when they never listened to you?"

"You wouldn't understand," Daniel said in a near mumble.

"I think I understand perfectly, you weak excuse for a man," Patience said venemously.

"Domineering wench."

"Kidnapper."

Daniel couldn't come up with an insult to match Patience's last one, nor did he have to. Outside, there seemed to be another couple arguing as well. It was hushed at times, but both Daniel and Patience could make it out. Patience seemed to know at least one of the people, for she signaled the voices by sliding her hand between two bars in the window next to her and waving. Soon enough, Daniel and Patience had unofficial visitors.

"Patience? This isn't your house," said a female voice.

"Who is it?" Daniel asked.

"Kimi, and someone else I don't recognize."

"Oh, this is the spirit man. We've been wandering the forests for ages because he won't ask directions to get out of this world."

"I've never needed directions before and I don't need them now."

"Keep telling yourself that, Pallaton," Kimi said to the spirit man.

"Kimi, we don't need a spirit man anymore. Demons didn't kidnap the baby."

"What?" the Native woman exclaimed to the Pilgrim woman.

"Shh! Not so loud."

"Then who did?"

"Danny Boy here," Patience said, nodding to her cousin.

"Not just me. The Elders are behind everything, not the man from beyond the Pumpkin Door," Daniel said as he nudged Patience away from the window.

"I knew it! Does Jacob know yet?"

"No. Listen, you have to find him and tell him that the Elders are the kidnappers. If we leave from this place, the Elders will have us killed," Patience said, after pushing Daniel away from the window, of course.

"Understood. Pallaton, there's a change in the mission."

"I heard. Well where do we go now?" Pallaton asked.

"To Jacob's. Hang in there, Patience. And you," Kimi said as she glared to Daniel, "You sir are swine and the moment you are out of that cell, I will beat you to a pulp."

"Yes, Kimi."

"Let's go, Pallaton."

The spirit man gave an accepting nod before letting Kimi lead the way to Jacob's. Much to their surprise, their Pilgrim friend wasn't home. This meant only one thing- Jacob had already gone to fetch the innocent demon man.

"We're too late," Pallaton sighed defeatedly.

"No we're not. We have to get out of here," Kimi said.

"Where do you suppose we should go?"

"Pallaton, an innocent man's life, perhaps afterlife is at stake here."

"Kimi, I'm not going to do anything to him now that I know he's innocent."

"But Jacob's friends might. They are powerful men."

"If they were that powerful, they would not have needed me in the first place."

"Maybe so, but the longer we stay here, the worse an innocent man will suffer at their hands."

"You have a point, but you ask for the directions."

"Fine. Let's hurry, the night's growing older by the minute."

Kimi and Pallaton silently left the settlement in search of the Council of Celebrations. As the night wore on, they walked through endless forests before eventually finding a circle of trees with strange etchings. One of them had a large pumpkin; this had to be the door Daniel mentioned. Kimi and Pallaton held hands as they opened the door and jumped into the realm, spinning around and around among leaves and ghosts until the landed next toa scarecrow on a post with the a sign telling the pair where they were- Halloween Town.

It was a strange and marvelous place, this town. Kimi and Pallaton stayed mostly in the shadows, along with pretty much everything else. There were goblins, ghouls, and all sorts of creatures roaming around. However, one of them seemed a bit out of place.

"Look over there," Pallaton said to Kimi as he pointed to a couple walking with a large basket.

"What?" Kimi asked.

"Ever see a spirit with legs?"

"That one, I suppose."

"That is no spirit. Come on," Pallaton said as he dragged Kimi out of the shadows and ran up to the 'spirit', "Excuse me, sir."

"Hey, these look human," said the 'spirit' to his female companion.

"You're no demon," Pallaton said accusingly.

"Yes I am. I'm a ghost."

"How do you explain your legs?"

"Lighten up, buddy. No one else here has given me a hard time, ain't that right, Sally?" Billy asked before he realized something. "No way! Are these people the Costume Police?"

"Billy, it's time to go home," Sally said before turning to the man and his partner, "You are aren't from here, are you?"

"We're looking for someone," Kimi said, immediately noticing a look of dread sweep across Sally's face, "We mean no harm, honestly."

"In that case, I guess you'll be wanting this," Sally said as she passed the carrier to Kimi.

Billy and Sally watched the Native woman's face light up with joy when she saw what, well, who was in the carrier. Her companion gave a sigh of relief and smiled at the pair. The lady gently put the carrier down long enough to hug both Billy and Sally before taking Takoda out of it and holding him close to her.

"Oh, my little nephew, you have been a naughty boy scaring all of us like that."

"Nephew? You're not his parents?" Billy asked.

"His parents are waiting for him back at home. You've taken great care of him, thank you."

"Can Jack say goodbye to him? He's grown pretty close to your nephew."

"Jack, it's a simple name for your savior," Kimi said to Takoda before turning back to the pair of spooks, "What are your names?"

"I'm Sally. It was a pleasure looking after him."

"My name's Billy, I had nothing to do with this, ma'am. I was just taking the tour."

"I suppose we are touring as well. I am Takoda's aunt, Kimi. This is Pallaton, the spirit man."

"No need to fear me, no one's going to the Great Beyond any time soon," Pallaton said.

"That's a relief," Sally said.

"What's the Great Beyond?" Billy asked.

"Long story, Billy," Sally said.

"Everything's a long story with you people," Bill said before turning to face Skellington Manor, "Um, Sally. I think we have a situation."

Sally turned around to see a crowd forming around the house. As she got closer, Sally realized that Skellington Manor was a mess. The gates were left swinging open, windows were broken, and the door appeared to have been knocked down. Sally ran ahead of the group into the house to see what was going on. Everything from furniture to baby toys was strewn about. Someone had broken in. Only one other thought came to Sally's mind now.

"Jack!"

The rag doll ran up the spiral staircase to see if Jack was awake. To her shock, Jack wasn't even there. Their room was the messiest of all and the Pumpkin King was nowhere to be found. The only thing that was in order wasthe desk. By now, Sally had been joined by Billy and the traveling Native couple. Together, they walked to the desk, where Sally picked up a piece of paper, which was lying next to a white feather dipped in ink.

"Sally, by the time you read this, Jack will be in our custody. We know you have the baby. Bring him to Thanksgiving Town and we will not charge you with kidnapping. If you decide to resist, we will have you exorcized as well. You have twenty-four hours- CoC," Sally finished reading before bringing a hand to her mouth.

"What's C-O-C?" Billy asked.

"The Council of Celebrations," Kimi said, "They did this."

"You said no one was going to the Great Beyond!" Sally yelled at Pallaton.

"I'm the only one who can exorcize Jack, and I'm not going to. Don't worry," Pallaton said to Sally, trying to keep her from crying.

"Don't worry? They kidnapped him!" she yelled.

"Well, I'm going home," Billy said before Kimi grabbed his arm.

"We'll need all the help we can get, Billy."

"For what?"

"You and Sally are coming with us to face the Elders."

"What can I do? I'm a mortal for God's sake!" Billy yelled before he sneezed.

"You can back us up," Kimi said.

"Can I go home after that?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't you go home?" Pallaton asked.

"Alright then," Billy said.

"Come on, we only have twenty-four hours after all," Kimi said as she took Takoda in his carrier down the staircase, followed by Pallaton.

"He'll be fine. Your Nightshade probably did worse to him than anything those people could come up with," Billy said to Sally, who looked about ready to faint.

"I hope you're right, Billy. I really do," the rag doll said with one last look at the room before going downstairs with the mortal, ripping up the Council's note as she walked down the stairs.

Gasp! The Pumpkin King's been kidnapped! Hang on Jack, help's coming! Does Jack even realize he's being held hostage? How can he be proven innocent based on words alone? Is it possible that he can be sent to the Great Beyond without a spirit man? More to come. (Re-edit Comment: Poor Billy gets no love for his bad costume. At least it comes into use at one point.)


	13. Lending a Hand

Author's Note: Guess who has free time! That's right, me, and we all know what I do with free time: update. The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of my favorite films and musicals. I'm adding to to through this story and others. I never had a hand in creating it. The credit for that belongs to Tim Burton, Danny Elfman, Disney, and Touchstone Pictures. Capcom is making a kind of official follow-up to the movie in a video game. As for me, I'm just transferring my plot to you, the readers. Thanks for sticking with me so far and happy reading once more.

The group immediately made their way through the crowd of townsfolk gathered in front of the house. Sally reassured the Mayor that everything was fine and asked him to relay the message to everyone else. It seemed that getting to the clearing was going to be easy. Unfortunately, that was far from the case.

"Hold it right there," said the voice of a young boy from the bushes.

"Oh no!" Billy exclaimed as he began to tremble.

"What's wrong?" Sally asked him.

"I know that voice."

"Is it a demon?" Pallaton asked the mortal.

"Worse," Billy said.

"You've got that right," said the voice once more as three short figures made their way out of the bushes.

Billy nearly passed out when he saw them. Lock, Shock, and Barrel still gave the poor man nightmares. They had been so determined to get his soul the last time they met. Although Billy doubted that was what they wanted now, he still felt fear tingle up his spine upon seeing them again.

"They're children," Kimi said.

"Not just children, evil children. They tried to kill me and take my soul!"

"Hey! That's the guy who hates Halloween," Barrel pointed out to Shock.

"The toll's gonna be double for him," Shock replied.

"Toll?" Sally asked.

"You know, a lot of people have been coming to town," Lock stated, "So we started charging candy to come in and out of Halloween Town."

"So you all have to pay up, or else," Shock added.

"Or else what?" Pallaton asked.

"You don't want to know," Billy said.

"So give us some candy," Barrel said as he pointed a slingshot at Billy's forehead.

"Kids, it's an emergency," Sally said.

"Too bad. No candy, no way out of town. Even the people who took Jack had candy," Barrel said.

"You let them _out_?" Sally asked.

"Hey, it was good candy."

"Barrel, they told us to keep that quiet! I don't know why I work with you two morons!" Shock exclaimed.

"I'm not a moron," Lock said to Shock.

"Yes you are," Shock said.

"You're a moron times two," Lock replied.

"Moron times infinity!" Shock said, getting right into Lock's face.

"Knock it off, you guys," Barrel said, accidentally shooting Shock with a rock when he turned to speak to the pair.

"You are so dead!" Shock screamed, tackling Barrel to the ground.

"He's already dead, moron," Lock said.

"You too, Lock!" Shock said as she grabbed Lock by the ankles and dragged him into the fight.

With that, the three children starting beating on each other. The traveling group watched in amazement as the former toll-takers began a type of death match over who was a 'moron'. They left a few moments afterwards. Sally knew the trick-or-treaters could fight for hours, so they would not notice the group had left for a long time. It wasn't long until they found the clearing and all entered the Turkey Door. Soon enough, the four adults and infant were right in the middle of a Pilgrim Colony a few hours before sunrise.

"Wow. So this is what it was like," Billy said as he looked around.

"We'll give you a tour later," Kimi said to the mortal, "Jacob lives in that house."

"The one with all the lights on in the middle of the night?" Sally asked in a confused tone.

"They must be meeting," Pallaton said as they all approached the door, only to find it locked.

"I guess knocking's out of the question," Billy said.

"Kimi, could you see if there are any open windows?"

"Why would you need an open window, Sally?"

"I still have one trick left up my sleeve."

Kimi decided not to ask what that trick was and led the others around the house. Inside Jacob's house, it seemed that the Deadly Nightshade had a very strong effect on the formerly sleep deprived Pumpkin King. He was sleeping when he was taken, carried to Jacob's house, and was now snoring on a chair in the pilgrim's home. Of course, the Council could not question a suspect who was asleep, so they waited and waited for the skeleton to awaken.

"Is he up yet?" Santa Claus asked the current Jack Watchers, Rabbi Tevel and Saint Patrick.

"No. Watching him is making _me_ tired," Tevel said with a yawn.

"Aye. I never thought the dead needed more sleep then eternal rest. I guess I was wrong," Saint Patrick added.

"How's Cupid holding up?" Rabbi Tevel asked Santa Claus, who sighed before answering.

"Jacob and the rabbit have managed to keep him patient. I don't know how long that will last, though."

"I can't believe those kids took all my Gelt," Tevel said, changing the subject as he looked through his pockets.

"Those little hooligans are the naughtiest in existence. That would be proof," Santa said.

"Aye, I would've have mistaken them for forest demons myself."

"You wouldn't be the first one, Patrick. I remember when they kidnapped me right from my doorstop."

As the three were talking, Jack began to stir. His head felt as if it had been stuck numerous times with a hammer. It was the worst pain he could ever remember feeling. He groaned as he rubbed his forehead with his right had and slowly opened his eyes. It was then he saw that he was no longer in his own bed.

"Am I dreaming?" Jack moaned.

"He's awake!" Saint Patrick yelled.

"Not so loud," Jack complained before sitting straight up, "What is this!"

"About time," Cupid said as he flew in, "Can we question him?"

"He looks confused," Jacob said as he and the Easter Bunny followed the deity.

"My head hurts," Jack said as he looked toward an open window.

No. It couldn't be. It was! A blue, stitched hand had just fallen to the floor from the outside. Sally had come to his aid. As disoriented as Jack was at the moment, he couldn't help but smile.

"What is so funny?" Cupid asked as he squared his eyes.

"Oh, um, nothing. Nothing at all."

"At least you know that."

"What's going on?"

"We caught you."

"You did?"

"Stop playing the fool! We know what you did. We want answers, Jack."

Answers, eh? Jack knew better than that. Cupid was going to have him exorcized unless Jack could prove he was innocent. The Pumpkin King knew for sure Sally would have brought the baby with her. That would be proof enough that he didn't at least eat it like the Elders had thought. Jack watched the hand crawl along the floor towards the door for a moment before distracting the Council by taking off his head.

"Merciful heavens!" Saint Patrick exclaimed.

"Was that necessary, Jack?" Santa Claus asked.

"My head still hurts. Taking it off usually makes it feel better," Jack's headsaid as he spied on the hand.

"Oh my," Rabbi Tevel said.

"You'll get used to it," Jacob told Tevel.

"Enough," Cupid said to the pilgrim and rabbi before turning to Jack, "Why did you do it?"

"I didn't kidnap the baby," Jack said.

"I must be mistaken, for I thought you were going to tell the truth," Cupid said.

"I am telling the truth, Cupid," Jack said before seeing the hand go off in the wrong direction, "To the right!"

"Excuse me?" Cupid asked, bewildered by the outburst.

"I'm sorry. My thoughts are getting a bit jumbled," Jack said as he saw the hand get closer to the door.

"You had better un-jumble them then."

"I'm sorry."

"No, you have no remorse. You are a sick creature that feeds upon the young."

"Where did you get that idea?"

"That is what monsters do, instill fear and eat the children of good people. You are a foul demon."

"I'm not a demon, I'm a skeleton. There's a difference."

"The point is you are a fiend! To think you were even there when that poor woman told us of how a demon had stolen her nephew to feed upon him! You watched her pour her soul out to us and deep down you were just waiting to get back to your ill-gotten prize. It sickens me," Cupid said.

"You're not listening to me. I don't eat people, no one in Halloween Town does. Not that I know of anyway," Jack said as the hand jumped up to the lock and opened it.

"Why should I listen to you? Why should _any_ of us listen to you?" Cupid asked as he lunged at Jack, only to be restrained by Jacob and Tevel.

"Because he's telling the truth," said a strong, female voice.

Every eye and socket turned to the front door, which was now open. Standing at the doorway were Kimi and Pallaton, followed by Sally and Billy. Sally had bent over slightly as if she was looking for something. It was then that the Council realized that her right hand was missing. They watched it crawl from behind the open door and make its way to its owner.

"That's it. I'm closing my windows from now on," Jacob said as he and Tevel released Cupid.

"Sorry, but the door was locked from the inside," Sally said before walking over to Jack, "Are you alright?"

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Billy replied as he entered the house.

"Sorry, Billy, not you," Sally said.

"That depends," Cupid interrupted, "Did you bring the child?"

"Yes, he's alive an well," Kimi said as she lifted the carrier, "Now leave Jack alone, he is innocent."

"Are you serious? This fiend kidnapped your nephew," Cupid said to Kimi.

"No he didn't. The Elders did. Patience told me," Kimi replied.

"When did she say that?" Jacob asked.

"A few hours ago, from a jail cell."

"A WHAT?" Jacob exclaimed.

"Ow! Not so loud," Jack said as he put his head back on.

"The Elders are behind everything," Pallaton said.

"They imprisoned Patience and one of their own," Kimi said, "We don't know why though. By the way, this is Takoda," she finished as she lifted the blanket from the sleeping child in the carrier.

It was hard to believe that such a fuss was raised over an innocent baby. It wasn't his fault at all. Evil men used the infant as a pawn in their wicked plot. Now, they had to be brought to justice, but not before someone got an apology.

"Jack, I am sorry for thinking the worst of you and your people," Cupid said to the skeleton, "You really are a good chap, I forgot that."

"It's your job to think with your heart, you were just doing what came naturally to you," Jack said, "Besides, if anyone ever did that to your kid, you'd be right to think that way."

"What do we do now? The Elders run part of this world, it would throw everything in upheaval if they were deposed," Cupid said with a sigh.

"Maybe things would change for the better if they were gone," Sally said, "If we all lent a hand to fix things here, then the world could turn out better off than it is now."

"It appears you are starting to rub off on her," Cupid said to Jack.

"Oh, Jack, now you've gotten me into meddling too."

"At least I won't have to do it alone anymore."

"Excuse me, dead lovebirds?" Billy interrupted, "We still have a problem here."

"You certainly know how to ruin a moment," Cupid said before walked over to see the baby.

"Maybe you should run for Mayor of Halloween Town," Jack said to Billy.

"Jack, that's mean," Sally said, barely hiding a giggle, "Are you feeling better, Billy?"

"Yeah. Just warn me the next time you're going to take off a body part."

"Alright," Sally said.

"What's the problem, Billy?" Jack asked.

"The sun's coming up, and those Elders will probably wake up soon along with the rest of the town."

"You're right. We have to settle this once and for all," Jack said, "Get all of the Council over here. I'm sure if we put our heads together, we'll think of something."

Whew. Crisis averted! Now that the sun's rising, will Daniel and Patience undergo trial? Will the Council of Celebrations come up with a plan to declare the Elders guilty? Can Thanksgiving Town survive without its leaders? Find out next time, readers. (Re-edit Comment: I would like to thank the Addams Family marathon that was playing the day I wrote this for the whole hand idea. Forgot to thank them.)


	14. Jack's Amazing Plan

Author's Note: Well, well, well. Looks like the Elders are slowly being closed in on without realizing so. How, pray tell, will those dastardly men pay? Hee hee, dastardly. That's a funny word. Anyhow, The Nightmare Before Christmas still doesn't belong to me. It never did, to be honest. As much as I wish the word dastardly belonged to me too, alas, it doesn't. This story belongs to me though, so nyeh.

Billy could hardly believe it. In one night, he had seen his home in the afterlife, met other holiday figures, saw his Mr. Unlucky pass out from bad tea, and worn a cheap Halloween costume in the middle of spring. Billy would have to write a book about all of this one day, but not now. Now, he had to help all of these holiday folk bring some peace to Thanksgiving Town.

"Um, Santa Claus?" Billy asked the large man in red.

"What holiday are you from?" Santa Claus asked in return. "Wait, let me guess. Are you the April Fool?"

"No, sir. I'm a mortal."

"A mortal?" Santa Claus asked loudly, causing the rest of the Council to turn to him.

"Yep. William Colby, you can call me Billy."

"Billy, I understand this must be very strange for you-"

"Not really. Jack told me you all existed."

Billy knew the moment Santa Claus walked away from him that he had gotten Jack into some serious trouble. Well, at least Santa was leading the rest of the holiday people to Jack. Billy knew he should not have found this funny, but he couldn't help chuckling to himself as he followed suit. All the bad karma Mr. Unlucky had cause him for twenty years was about to bite him in his bony rear.

"Jack, why is it that when some rule higher than all of us is broken, you are the one who broke it?" Santa Claus asked the Pumpkin King, who was now lying down on a bench with Sally watching over him.

"What did I do now?"

"Billy is a mortal. Mortals are not supposed to come to any of our worlds."

"They aren't?" Rabbi Tevel asked. "Not that I've ever brought one," he finished, noticing the glare Santa Claus had given him.

"He's marked," Jack said as he began to sat up, "I'm allowed to bring marked souls to my world."

"When they die, Jack. Not when they're alive."

"I resent that," Billy said, "You know, for Santa Claus, you're pretty mean."

"Marked or not, you don't belong here."

"I don't know about you, but I don't think my being here is the main problem we're dealing with," Billy stated.

"He's right," Sally said. "Now that you're all here, we can come up with a way to reveal the real kidnappers of that child," the rag doll finished, looking over to Kimi and Pallaton, who were seated on the floor and guarding the baby carrier.

"What do we know so far?" Saint Patrick asked.

"We know Jack did not do it. Sorry about that again," Cupid said to Jack.

"It's water under the bridge," Jack replied.

"We also know that the Elders are behind it, and they have my fiancé in jail," Jacob said in a worried tone, receiving a comforting pat on the shoulder from the Easter Bunny.

"Don't forget, they imprisoned one of their own with her," Rabbi Tevel added, "Chances are he'll confess everything if the others don't."

"Alright, so our main goals are to free the two prisoners and have the Elders confess to kidnapping. How can we do that?" Santa Claus asked.

"Excuse me," Kimi said as she got up and walked to the discussing group, "I feel that some of my people should be there when the confession is made. It's only fair."

"I guess we can go back to the village and get Takoda's parents and your chief," Jacob said, "But we need something to stall the Elders long enough until we return."

"What kind of stalling?" Jack asked as a grin began to creep across his face.

"We want the Elders to confess only when Kimi and I return with the boy's parents and the chief, and any other Natives who want to come. The Elders need to think they've won long enough for us to make the round trip."

"I have an idea!" Jack exclaimed.

"Uh-oh," Santa Claus muttered to himself.

"I'm going to be exorcized," Jack said proudly.

"Jack, wasn't the whole point of me rescuing you was so that you _wouldn't_ be sent to the Great Beyond?" Sally asked in confusion.

"Not really exorcized, Sally," Jack said before looking over to Pallaton, "Excuse me, Spirit Man? Bring Takoda over here. We need to talk."

"Yes?" Pallaton asked as he walked over with the carrier in his hands.

"Is there a way for you to, well, _pretend_ you're sending me to the Great Beyond?"

"I can use the wrong incantations on purpose. Those won't do anything to you."

"Or Billy."

"Yeah, or Billy... wait a minute!" Billy exclaimed.

"Santa Claus can't be too mad at me if you're helping," Jack said in an insisting voice, slyly adding a wink when Old Saint Nick wasn't looking.

"Right, helping," Billy said reluctantly.

"So, here's my plan," Jack started as he folded his hands together, "We wait until whatever trial the Elders are having with Patience and their other captor is well under way. Spirit Man, I'm sorry, what's your name?"

"Pallaton."

"Yes, Pallaton. Pallaton, you enter the courthouse and say that you have found the demons. That is where Sally, Billy, and I come in."

"Jack, why am I in this part of the plan?" Sally asked as she began to wring her hands.

"Think of it as the role of your life. You'll be a vicious demon woman."

"I don't think I can be vicious."

"I know it's a stretch, but you can pull it off."

"Can we get back to the plan, please?" Santa Claus asked.

"Sorry," Jack apologized, "As I was saying, Billy, Sally and I will play the demons. We'll pretend to be tied up, then break from our 'bonds' and start to 'fight' Pallaton. All the while, members of the Council should be posted in different areas of the town and woods."

"Why?" Rabbi Tevel asked.

"When the Native witnesses are halfway to Thanksgiving Town, that's when Pallaton will begin to 'exorcize' us. When they actually reach town, that's when I'll corner the Elders."

"Corner the Elders?" Cupid asked.

"Your people are God-fearing, yes?" Jack asked Jacob.

"Very God-fearing," Jacob replied, "Is there a problem with that?"

"No. The plan depends on it. I'm going to scare the Elders into thinking they are going to Hell unless they _loudly_ repent their sin, kidnapping Takoda. When they do, I'll let them out of their fear and that's when everyone sees them for the despicable people they really are."

"What was all that again?" Saint Patrick asked after a brief silence, causing Jack to smack his forehead.

Jack took in his breath and slowly repeated his plan without interruptions. It was decided that the watching posts would be set up just outside the woods and at the settlement's entrance. The Easter Bunny and Rabbi Tevel would be the ones at the former post while Saint Patrick and Santa Claus would wait at the latter one. They were in pairs because one of each pair would have to run to the head signaler, whose job was to let Jack and Sally know when to stop fighting with Pallaton and when to stop pretending to be exorcized. That job was given to Billy, who was doubling as a demon andthe headsignaler.

As for where Takoda would be during all of this, Cupid volunteered to take care of him. He would stay in Jacob's house with the child until the whole mess was cleared. He said he needed practice with babies anyway, so Jack didn't argue against that. The only person who wasn't so sure of the plan at this point was Sally. Jack managed to pull her aside for a few moments and tried to get her to be vicious, among other things.

"Jack, I'm not good at acting."

"It's fun. Ok, make the maddest, most evil face you possibly can."

"Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you," Sally said before squaring her eyes, pouting, and crossing her arms.

"It's a start. Could be better though," Jack said, barely hiding his letdown.

"Could be better? Jack, I don't know what goes through your mind sometimes. You come up with these crazy ideas and just expect me to go through with them perfectly. I'm not perfect, Jack. How am I supposed to be vicious by the time we pull off this grand scheme, if we can do it in the first place? This is insane! I feel like I'm falling apart right-"

"Sally, that's it!"

"What is?"

"That tirade. Just think back to that and you'll be vicious. See, I told you it could be done."

"How does everything work out fine for you?"

"My crazy ideas get crazy results."

"I'm sorry."

"I understand. When this is all over, I won't pick up any stray babies in the woods ever again. I promise."

"Speaking of picking up babies, did I tell you about our appointment with Venus? She said she needs to see both of us before we can have children of our own," Sally said as she drew closer to Jack, drawing invisible circles on his chest with her fingers.

"That I hadn't heard," Jack said, "Perhaps our forbidden baby question will be answered after all."

"I hope so. Maybe focusing on our future children will tone down your scheming."

"I'm not that bad, am I?"

"No, but I have to admit that pretending to be vicious and sent to the Great Beyond isn't how I'd choose to spend a normal day."

"Alright, point taken. Where would I be without my voice of reason?"

"Probably in the real Great Beyond. There's no chance of Pallaton making a mistake in his act, is there?" Sally asked.

"I doubt it," Jack replied, "I think it's about time we get this started. Ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Let's go."

Jack took Sally's hand and together they gathered the rest of their mission crew. As they all took their respective positions, and Jacob and Kimi made their way to the Native village, the trial of Patience and Daniel was underway at the courthouse. Every colonist in Thanksgiving Town was there, amazed at the charges those two were accused of. Before the villagers stood the worst villains they could think of: a witch and a traitor.

"Patience Carrington, is it not true that thou art a witch?" asked the Grand Elder from the judge's bench.

"It is a lie you fabricated," Patience said from the witness stand.

"How dare she speak to the Grand Elder in that way?" asked a Puritan woman who covered the ears of her children.

"She surely must be a witch," said a Puritan man.

"They are lying to you!" Patience exclaimed.

"Silence!" yelled the Grand Elder. "Miss Carrington, when this cousin of thine needed help in overthrowing his fellow Elders," he continued, pointing to Daniel sitting at the Defendant's Chair between Elder Robert and Elder John, "Did you promise to use thine witchcraft in helping him succeed?"

"Of course not."

"Ah, so you admit to practicing witchcraft, just not using it for treason?"

"You're just twisting my words around!"

"Who here thinks she is worthy enough of the gallows?" the Grand Elder asked the colonists, watching as each and every hand went up, "No further questions. I hereby sentence thee to death by hanging. Daniel-"

Before Grand Elder Joseph could call Daniel to the stand, the doors to the Courthouse flew open. Every head in the courtroom turned to see who had disturbed this trial. It was a Native man, who strolled down the aisle as if he had been inside many times before. He looked to be focused on something when he gave a bow to the Grand Elder.

"Who are you?" asked the Grand Elder.

"Pallaton of the Native tribe," said the stranger, "There is something I wish for you to see."

"You are disturbing justice."

"I have found the demon who kidnapped the child from my village. I would like for you and the other Elders to witness his exorcism and that of his accomplices."

"Very well. Robert, John, escort the prisoners outside. We can't let them out of our sight."

The Grand Elder would have been more pleased if the Native had mentioned killing all who resided in the land of Halloween. Perhaps he was waiting to say so until after he disposed of the skeletal demon and his partner in crime. In any case, this was a step headed in a right direction towards disposing the Natives. The Grand Elder motioned for the rest of the colony to stay inside the Courthouse while business was taken care of outside. Little did he know how fast his power was slipping away.

So, will Jack's plan actually work? Will they come across any snags? Can it be that the Elders really will repent what they've done? Only one way to find out. (Re-edit Comment: I love it when the good guys make plans. So much anticipation, eh?)


	15. Busted

Author's Note: Oh my, seems Jack is quite the plan master. Of course, we all know how 99.9 percent of his ideas seem to turn out. Who knows? This could be that 0.1 percent. Or not. Guess you have to read on to find out. Remember, folks, The Nightmare Before Christmas is so cool, I have no right taking credit for any of it. None. That belongs to Mr. Burton, Mr. Elfman, Disney and Touchstone Pictures. They all lent some of that to Capcom for the game, but that's about it. Now, on with the show.

The doors of the Courthouse shut loudly as Elders John and Robert kept Patience and Daniel close to them. When the pair of Elders were sure their charges weren't going anywhere, they faced the Grand Elder, himself looking at Pallaton. Pallaton seemed to have tied the skeleton demon to some kind of woman made from assembled parts and some human, probably a demon in disguise. The spirit man had done well for himself. At least, that's how it looked.

"I bring to you the demons who stole the child," Pallaton said with a dramatic bow to the Elders. "As a symbol of the closeness I feel with you, the leaders of your people, I will slay them before your very eyes."

"How thoughtful," the Grand Elder said.

"Watch and be-" Pallaton started before he heard something drop to the ground.

The spirit man turned to face his "captives". He saw that the rope tying them together seemed to have gotten loose and fallen to the ground. Pallaton looked back to the now startled Elders before quickly turning to the demon trio once more. Everything was going well so far, perhaps this could be pulled off after all.

"Now, really... ropes?" Jack asked with a slight sneer. "We're demons. Ropes can't hold us."

"What were you thinking?" Sally asked.

"They were blessed ropes," Pallaton said in mock fear.

"Blessed ropes? That's the dumbest thing I ever heard," Billy said.

"Get them!" yelled Elder Robert to Pallaton.

"Billy, time for you to run," Jack whispered, "Remember the signal for when the travelers reach the first post?"

"Yeah," Billy whispered back before facing the Elders again, "I'll show some mercy on the poor Native. Though, if he's not dead by the time I come back, I'm going to have to change my mind."

With that, Billy ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Not that he was going that far, but he had to look convincing to the Elders. Pallaton made a false attempt to catch him before focusing back on Jack and Sally. As for the Elders, they were very entertained by this prelude to the exorcism, just as planned. However, it was quite a different story for Patience and Daniel.

"We can't let him do this," Patience whispered to her cousin.

"I don't understand. Why is he still trying to exorcize them?" Daniel asked in return.

"I have no idea. Daniel, on the count of three, you and I are going to help them."

"Are you sure we should be making that much of a move, Patience?"

"One."

"I mean, I think the demons can handle this on their own."

"They're not demons. Two."

"Don't you even think about-"

But it was too late. Patience counted to three, grabbed Daniel by the hand, and led him in between Pallaton and the "demons". Needless to say, this caused quite a detour for Jack's plan. Outside influence never occurred to him in his mind. Now, it was standing right in the middle of his ingenious plot.

"Stop it!" Patience cried out to Pallaton.

"You never said anything about them," Sally said to Jack.

"Don't worry, I've got this settled," Jack replied before clearing his throat and nudging Patience and Daniel to the side. "Move aside, this doesn't concern you."

"For a demon, he's right. Please, stay out of the way before either I or they injure you," Pallaton said.

"Don't mind us," Daniel said with a very nervous chuckle, "Let's move out of the nice demon slayer's way, Patience."

"No! Pallaton, didn't you listen to me? They aren't the-" Patience started before Sally pushed her to the ground.

"Well, she wouldn't move," Sally said to an astounded Jack, who only blinked in response.

"How dare you! I try to defend you and you push me into dirt. You horrible wench!" Patience exclaimed.

"Hey, you can't call her that!" Jack yelled back.

"Patience, please, for the love of God! Don't anger them," Daniel said.

"You can drop off of the world for all I care, you sniveling coward," Patience said as she got up, "Is that how you repay people trying to help you?" she asked Sally, shoving her into Jack.

"I'm sorry," Sally said.

"No she isn't," Jack said immediately after Sally apologized.

"Jack?" Sally asked.

"Sally, try not to break character," Jack whispered.

"I think this is a little more serious than breaking character, Jack."

"I want a straight answer from the both of you," Patience said.

"Enough, witch," the Grand Elder said, raising his arms, "Thou and thy cohort art interrupting important business."

"I would have thought she would help her kin," said Elder Robert.

"They are no kin of mine and you know it."

"That's enough," Elder John said as he grabbed Patience and dragged her back to the Courthouse, Daniel following them, "You're lucky the damned demons didn't eat you."

"Finally," Pallaton said, speaking for himself, as well as Jack and Sally.

"How sad, hiding behind others. Are you that new at fighting demons?" Jack asked, getting right back into villain mode.

"Want to find out, or should I take ladies first to heart?" Pallaton asked, nodding his head towards Sally.

"We're demons, we don't fight one-on-one, do we?" Sally asked Jack in a sly tone.

"Of course not. He takes us down together or he doesn't take us down at all."

"So be it," Pallaton said as he raised his staff above his head and spun it.

Here was the real entertainment for the Elders. Pallaton began to chant in his native tongue, causing the air to gather around him. In a few moments, he was able to use the currents to swiftly jump around, even hover at some points. This was supposed to both "attack" the demons and find the signal to switch to phase two of the plan.

Speaking of the second phase, Billy was currently hiding out behind Jacob's house. He was waiting for either Saint Patrick or Santa Claus to show up. When one of them did, Billy would have to climb up on the roof of the house and wave the sheet of his ghost costume over his head. It seemed like ages had past when he ran off from the impending "battle". Heck, he was almost worried. At least, until a tall man in green robes approached him.

"You'd best be climbing on the roof now," Saint Patrick said.

"Good. For a minute, I thought they got caught up," Billy said as he tried to jump on the roof, "Um, a little help."

"Don't look at me, Lad. I'm too old to be throwing people on roofs. Ask Cupid."

"He's watching the kid."

"I'm sure we can switch for one minute."

Actually, it took less than a minute. Cupid didn't mind taking a break from babysitting. Hey, if it was going to get Takoda home sooner, it was perfectly fine. So, the God of Love lifted Billy Colby to the roof of Jacob's house and was back inside just as soon. Billy immediately began waving his sheet around, hoping for Pallaton's attention.

Pallaton was feeling tired from jumping around like a grasshopper. He hated to think how tired he would feel if this was a real battle. As he was making that mental note, he saw a figure on the rooftop of a house waving a large white sheet. It was the signal. Pallaton planted himself firmly on the ground as soon as the figure disappeared from the roof. He faced Jack and Sally, who looked about as tired from "defending" his airborne attacks.

"Enough of this game. It's time for you two to see the Great Beyond."

"Pallaton!" Patience exclaimed, earning a slap from Elder Robert.

"Be quiet, you're ruining the show," said the slap-happy Elder.

"How dare you strike her?" Daniel asked.

"Say anything else and you're next," Elder Robert warned Daniel, who squeaked in response.

"I need silence for the rite," Pallaton said, watching as the Elders and their prisoners grew quiet.

"Careful. You might blow yourself up with that overgrown twig," Jack said.

"That would be interesting," Sally added.

"And funny," Jack replied.

Pallaton ignored their comments and began the "exorcism". He pointed the staff towards the sky and chanted gibberish in his own tongue. Every once in a while, he would throw in a sincere incantation of light to illuminate his staff and make it look as if he was collecting demonic souls.

Jack began to "weaken", falling to the ground and looking to be in horrible pain. Sally knelt beside him and tried to get him back up before she fell under the "spell" herself, collapsing next to Jack.

"I can see it, the Great Beyond," Jack said in a voice no higher than a whisper.

"It's so empty," Sally said, "Everything's going dark."

"This looks like the end for us. All for a child."

"What was that? I can't hear you."

"Sally... goodbye." Jack said before he closed his eyes, "dead".

"Jack," said Sally before her eyes closed for what seemed to be the last time.

"It's done," Pallaton said, tapping his staff against the ground and receiving applause from the Elders.

"A fine show," said Grand Elder Joseph, "How wonderful, to be rid of these horrendous demons."

"That's what you think," said a familiar voice.

The three Elders looked towards the path leading to the Courthouse. It seemed that the demon in human form had returned. Alas, he was too late to save the others. He wasn't too happy about that, not at all.

"Native, I didn't spare you for this," Billy said.

"You're next." Pallaton replied, pointing the staff at Billy.

"I'm stronger than my two deceased friends there."

"I seriously doubt that."

"I can tell you one thing, you won't be able to strike me if you can't see me."

The Elders wondered what Billy meant before they noticed something rather odd. It seemed that a fog had formed around them. In minutes, Elders Joseph, John, and Robert were lost in the mist. They could not see nor hear anything other than the sounds of their own voices. Something was wrong.

"What is the meaning of this?" Grand Elder Joseph asked.

"I don't know, do I look like a psychic or some kind of philosopher?" asked Elder Robert.

"You might as well be, I can't see a damned thing in this fog." Elder John interrupted.

"Or holy thing, for that matter," said a fourth, older sounding voice.

One thing was made clear to the Elders: they weren't alone. At the same time, they faced a thin old man in robes and sandals. He had long white hair and a white beard that reached well to his waist. This figure towered over them like he had done many times in their lives. They were looking at God.

"Oh my God," said Grand Elder Joseph.

"Well, at least you have one thing right."

"Have we died?" Elder John asked.

"In a way."

"How can we die _in a way_?" Elder Robert asked.

"I'm not sure, but you did."

"Thou canst be God! Thou art senile old coot!"

"That makes two of us, Joseph, was it?"

"Aye," said the Grand Elder, now showing a hint of fear.

"I'll be honest with you, I'm afraid you three have been very, _very_, bad."

"How?" Elder John asked.

"You know how. You kidnapped that innocent child from the Native Village and left him to die in the woods."

"But that was in your name," Elder Robert said.

"I hate it when people do such horrible things in my name."

"We're sorry," Elder John said.

"Are you? Because I know the real reason why you kidnapped that boy."

"Dost thou?" asked the Grand Elder.

"For such men who consider themselves holy, you underestimate me. You wanted the Native land for yourselves, so by starting a war which would put your own people in danger, you would allow the deaths of Natives in order to conquer their land."

"God, you make it sound so bad," Elder Robert said.

"That's because it is bad. That isn't even the worst part. The child was saved from death by a skeleton, a rather fine skeleton if I do say so myself, charming, debonair... but I continue. You were willing to have him and his people sent to the Great Beyond for land. Is land worth that much suffering?"

"Lord, thy accusations are unfounded. The Natives and demons are pagans, heathens who do not believe in Thy word. Surely, thou wouldst not want for them to continue existing."

"Grand Elder, I am compassionate and do not wish harm on anyone. I care not what they believe in, as long as they believe. You and your fellow Elders stopped believing in goodwill towards _all _men. You kidnapped a child, an innocent human being for your sick purposes. I am a forgiving entity, but that, _that_, is hideous."

"What are you going to do?" Elder Robert asked.

"One of two things. I could send you all straight to Hell without a second thought and be as horrible to you as you have all been to the Natives and those 'demons' from Halloween Town. Or, I can allow you cleanse your souls. Repent your sins, repent loud enough for the Universe to hear. Reach the stars, Heaven itself."

"We did it!" yelled Elder John, "We kidnapped the Native boy."

"We never meant to sin, we wanted land!" added Elder Robert.

"Good Lord, forgive us of our sins, even though we were trying to serve Thee. If Thou findst it in Thy heart to look past this entire mess with the savages, I mean, Natives, we will be eternally grateful," finished Grand Elder Joseph.

The three Elders looked towards God, who had a very large grin on his face. He looked almost like he had pulled a great trick on them. That's when the fog began to lift. "God" lifted it with his own hands, hands that were skeletal. Wait... skeletal?

"No... it can't be!" exclaimed Elder John.

"I'm afraid you fell under fear's spell," Jack said as he took his true form and became surrounded by Holiday figures, Natives, and friends, "Everyone does. I guess you three really are God-fearing."

"You fiend! You terrible skeletal devil!" screamed Elder Robert.

"If you had done nothing wrong in the first place, none of this would have happened. Now, I think these fine people want to have a word with you," Jack said as he nodded towards the group of Natives that had come from the Village.

Ha ha! In your face, Elders! What will happen to these mean old Puritans? Will sweet revenge be exacted on them? Is Takoda really going home? Find out next time. (Re-edit Comment: See, I told you that bad costume would come in handy.)


	16. Going Home

Author's Note: Isn't snow just grand? Now that I have some unscheduled free time on my hands, I'm going to use it. Ready to hear the verdict for the big bad Elders? I know I am. They belong to me, along with a mish-mosh of other people, things, and places, but The Nightmare Before Christmas is really the springboard for all of these ideas and has an identity all its own. Now, without further ado, the aftermath.

The Elders were surely in between a rock and a hard place. At the moment, they were faced with a very angry group of Natives. Their leader, Chief Mingan had a solemn look on his face, as if he too had the power to exorcize them to the Great Beyond. Behind him was a woman sobbing into the shoulder of her male companion, they had to be the boy's parents. The couple was surrounded by angry men who aimed spears and arrows at the three Puritan leaders.

As if that wasn't bad enough, the doors of the Courthouse swung open as Puritan colonists went to see what took their Elders so long. They had made it just in time to witness the fall of three powerful men. The pilgrims stood, confused, even scared at what was happening. Hey, it wasn't every day one saw his or her leaders being taken down with the aid of a skeleton.

"Matchitehews!" Chief Mingan finally said. "You three have evil, wretched hearts."

"There should be four of us," Elder Robert said, looking towards Daniel.

"With friends like them, who needs enemies?" Patience asked, not seeing that her cousin had left her side, "Daniel? Get back here!"

"No, Patience. I have to take responsibility for what I did," Daniel said as he stood with the rest of the Elders to await their fates.

"We helped your people when they stepped onto this land. We made sure you never starved to death in the winter. Is this how you repay our hospitality? By stealing a child and blaming it on the spirits?"

"We were going to bring him back, but-" Elder John started.

"The only reason the child is alive is due to Mr. Skellington's inability to mind his own business," Jacob interrupted.

"That's right," Jack said, nodding until he realized that wasn't exactly a compliment. "Hey!"

"No offense," Jacob managed to say before the Native chief raised his right hand to their faces.

"Pay no mind to him, that man is practically a heathen," said the Grand Elder to the chief.

"Heathen or not, he has better values than you," Chief Mingan said as he allowed for Nitis and Kanti to step forward, "Look at these people in their eyes and tell them you wanted their child dead for land. I dare you."

"This is all a misunderstanding. That skeleton has been after us for trying to convert his wicked kin to the path of righteousness. He tricked us." Elder Robert said, averting his eyes.

"Where is he?" asked Nitis as he tried to calm his wife.

"Thou art his father, 'tis _thy_ duty to know." said the Grand Elder without a drop of compassion in his voice.

"Mukki?" Kanti asked the Elders, drying her tears.

"Excuse me?" asked Elder John.

"Do you have mukki?" Kanti asked again after pointing to each Elder.

"Mukki means a child," Mingan said. "She wants to know if any of you have children."

"No. If we did, we wouldn't have done something so horrible," Daniel said, finally speaking up.

"Quiet, boy. Thou hast landed in enough peril already."

"Grand Elder, I resign the post of being your stooge," Daniel said before looking at the Natives, "Words cannot express how deeply I regret doing this to you. The child is safe and sound, no harm has come to him."

"At least one of you knows how to tell the truth,"Chief Mingan said.

"He is mad. Just as loony as the schoolteacher," Elder Joseph said.

"Jacob, apprehend these men. Though, not this one," Chief Mingan said, looking right into Daniel's eyes, "Enkoodabaoo. He has finally learned to stand alone for what he believes in. The rest are corrupt shells of human beings. They are not fit to lead your people."

"Then who is?" Jacob asked.

"I'm sure you'll figure that out just fine. Now, get these men to those fancy stocks they enjoy putting others in."

The Elders finally gave up. One by one, they were taken away by a member of the Council. Only Daniel was left of them by the time they were put in the stocks. He put up quite a fight against not receiving the same punishment, only to be slapped on the back of head by Patience for acting like a fool. Still, there was one last person Daniel had to make amends with.

"You name is Jack, yes?" Daniel asked the skeleton man talking to the mortal with the sheet.

"Jack Skellington, Pumpkin King. That's me," Jack said with a wide grin.

"You did an excellent job in making them confess. Sorry for getting in the way, Patience can be a handful sometimes."

"Thank you. It's what I do. And don't worry about that, it bought me some time."

"Yeah, you wouldn't want to run into him in a dark alley, let me tell you," Billy said.

"Indeed. Jack, I am sorry for almost letting you take the blame for what the other Elders and I did. It wasn't right, and if you want to take my soul or anything of that nature, you have every right to."

"It's alright, as long as you've learned your lesson. Oh, and I won't take your soul. Isn't that right, Billy?"

"Yes, Mr. Unlucky," Billy said, chuckling at the name that once caused him fear.

"I thought your name was Jack," Daniel said to the skeleton.

"It's a long story, Daniel. One I don't think we have time to tell, alas," Jack said before feeling at tap on his left shoulder.

The Pumpkin King turned on his heels to find Sally looking right at him. She held Takoda in her arms and her eyes looked to be swelling with tears at the moment. The time had come for Takoda to go home with his real mother and father, and it looked as if it wasn't going to be easy.

"Jack, here. You give him back to them. I'm going to fall right apart any minute now," Sally said, offering the baby to him.

"Oh no, we're doing this together."

"Are you sure? You'll have to watch over two crying babies when you do."

"Make it three. I'm going to miss the little guy," Jack sniffled.

"Me too."

"Come on, before we start drowning everyone with our tears."

Nitis and Kanti waited anxiously for their baby boy to be found. They had watched his kidnappers face justice in the flesh and were now glued to the ground as a rather tall skeleton and a woman who appeared to be sewn together walked towards them with a bundle. Nitis, being the half of the couple who knew the most English, would have to extend his gratitude twofold. That is, when he could collect himself.

"I think he belongs to you," Sally said as she carefully gave the baby to Nitis, a tear rolling down her right cheek as she did so.

"Takoda. Our son." Nitis said as he showed the baby to Kanti, who grabbed the baby and held him close to her heart.

"He's a good boy, very friendly," Jack said as he tried to hide the note of disappointment in his voice.

"How can we ever thank you?"

"Take good care of him, we know you will," Jack said.

"He likes being rocked to sleep in your arms. If he's ever cranky, you can do that," Sally advised.

"And make sure he doesn't turn on his stomach when he sleeps. That's dangerous."

"Make sure he knows how much he's loved."

"We will," Nitis said. He then let Kanti whisper something in his ear. He translated it in his mind before telling what his wife wished to the undead couple, "Kanti suggested a very good idea."

"Really?" Jack asked, his voice perking up.

"She, well, we would like for you to be Takoda's family too."

"Can we do that?" Sally asked.

"In our tribe, everyone is family, if we're related by blood or not. You can be his aunt and uncle, visit him anytime you like."

"So this isn't a permanent goodbye?" Jack asked.

"Goodbye? No. Takoda owes his very life to you. It would be wrong for him never to see you again."

"Well, just call us Uncle Jack and Aunt Sally," Jack said as he extended his right hand to Nitis, who firmly shook it, sealing the deal.

It was getting late, and of course, Nitis and Kanti wanted to take their boy home after their separation. Chief Mingan and Pallaton escorted the happy family home while the Council of Celebrations took care of some unfinished business at Jacob's house. First of all, since Billy had seen way too much of the Council's inner workings, there was no choice but to make him a member.

"But I don't have a Holiday," Billy said.

"Make one up. I think Cheesy Costume Day would work well for you," Jack said jokingly, happy that he would be a part of Takoda's life after all.

"Sorry, Jack. Halloween's taken," Billy retorted.

"I was thinking Billy could just represent the Real World," Santa Claus said, "He could inform us of new traditions and practices so we can keep in touch with the public."

"Well, it would be a lot easier than killing him," Rabbi Tevel said.

"WHAT?" Billy exclaimed.

"It was a joke. You mortals really have no sense of humor," Tevel said.

"Our next order of business," interrupted Santa Claus, "is what to do with the Elders. They can't stay in the stocks forever."

"I'll take care of that," Jacob said. "They hold power here, but back home they're nothing but raving fanatics. As soon as another ship from England comes in, they're going on the return trip. They'll be persecuted just as they persecuted the Natives. Fitting, eh?"

"Darling, I never realized you could be so tough," Patience said as she gave Jacob a hug. "I like this side of you."

"Speaking of which, I think it would be best for the town if Daniel and I were the Elders. I'll have to give less homework to the children, but I doubt they'll mind that."

"Excellent idea, I second that motion, Lad," Saint Patrick said.

"I do too, if I'm allowed," Sally said.

"Of course. You're going to become the Pumpkin Queen, best for you to get practice in making decisions like this," Saint Patrick said, smiling.

"Oh. Maybe this is a little too much for me."

"You're doing just fine, Sally. Besides, I'm for Jacob and Daniel heading the town too," Jack said, "Maybe it's about time I start following my voice of reason."

"Where is Daniel anyway?" Patience asked. "I worry about him sometimes. He can be more spineless than a jellyfish."

"Funny, Cupid isn't here either," Rabbit Tevel added, getting an eye roll from the Easter Bunny. "Oh please, who could he be working on at this time?"

Alas, the poor Easter Bunny was right and could not even say so. At the moment, Cupid was spying on Daniel and Kimi on the outskirts of the woods. Kimi was giving Daniel a verbal beating for what he did, and all he could do was stand there and wait for her fists to start flying at him He felt he deserved it, no, he _knew_ he deserved it. But it didn't mean he wasn't hurt.

"You disgust me, you know that? Taking my nephew, I should strangle you with my bare hands," Kimi ranted.

"If you do, could you do it quickly?" Daniel asked.

"If you think things can be the way they were before, you can forget it."

"Kimi, please. We got along alright."

"Well it's over. I never want to speak to you again. You're a weak man who only takes orders from others."

"That's not true."

"It is! Don't think just because you're kin of Patience means I'm going to be nice to you. I was before, but now that's just finished," Kimi said as she started to walk in the woods.

Daniel felt sick. He saw Kimi walking away from him, he knew he didn't want her to leave, but he couldn't find the courage to move. Then, out of nowhere, it hit him. It was like someone pushed him forward, although, he didn't notice the arrow in his back slowly fading away as he approached Kimi.

"Kimi, wait!"

"What is it?"

"Please, give me another chance. I'm sorry, I truly am. If I had it all to do over, I would have left the Elders the minute they came up with the idea. Please, Kimi? I... I love you."

"You have to be joking."

"I honestly do. I know this is possibly the worst time in history for a man to tell a woman he loves her, but I feel it. I have the nerve to say it right now and I'm not taking no for an answer."

With that, Daniel kissed her. When they broke the kiss, Kimi slapped him. She could not have possibly liked that. This man was a coward and a fiend. Being a good kisser didn't exempt him from that, did it? Then again, Daniel had tried to become good, and was finally on his way. The chief seemed to like him well enough, even her sister appreciated his honesty, and she was Takoda's mother. There was only one thing Kimi could do at this point, kiss him back.

"You're mad as a hatter," Daniel said when the pair broke that kiss.

"You are more yellow than the sun in the middle of the day," Kimi answered.

"Would you like me to walk you home?"

"At least you ask for directions when you're lost."

Cupid chuckled to himself as the pair walked hand-in-hand into the woods. The God of Love still had it. Now, he had to rejoin the Council and catch up on what he had missed. When he did, he decided to let the Council in on his latest mission of love. Well, to be honest, it kind of slipped out. When it did, there was at least one person who was flustered by it.

"Are you insane?" Santa Claus asked Cupid.

"They had an appointment and I was in the neighborhood. It was going to happen eventually," Cupid replied nonchalantly.

"You could have at least waited a week."

"Why, so that hatred would build up in her heart? That makes my job much harder."

"Let's go home," Jack whispered to Sally.

"But the meeting's not over yet," Sally whispered back.

"It is for us. Besides, I think Billy's cold medication kicked in," Jack said as he pointed to the snoring mortal on a bench, covered with the infamous sheet.

"Well, we'd better take him home then," Sally replied.

After waking Billy, the Halloween Town representatives and the newest member of the Council left Thanksgiving Town. Jack and Sally made sure Billy got home safely and only left when they saw him enter his house in Wolf Creek. Then, they started the long journey home, which was still a mess from the Council's last visit. When they finished cleaning up, Jack sand Sally sat down on the couch, looking at all of the baby things they had and come to the realization that there was no baby of their own to use them.

"It's quiet," Sally said.

"Very quiet," Jack agreed.

"I miss him already."

"I miss how he used to smile at me, well, after I stopped scaring him."

"He was so sweet when he was asleep."

"We can still see him, of course. It just won't be the same," Jack said in a disappointed tone.

"He'll have a lot of love in his life, from us and his parents," Sally said trying to cheer both Jack and herself up.

"And cousins."

"Cousins?"

"Well, we're kind of his aunt and uncle now," Jack stated. "That means any children you and I might have would be his cousins."

"We have to figure out where those cousins will come from first," Sally said. "Venus is expecting us any day now."

"I almost forgot about that yet again."

"You have a reason to, you got sent to the Great Beyond and played a deity all in the same day."

"I couldn't have done it without you. You were perfectly vicious."

"That's one role I don't want to play again. At least I got it right the first and only time I played it."

"I'm sorry for putting you up to it."

"It was either that or have you really exorcized. I couldn't let that happen."

Jack politely covered a yawn, but Sally saw that he was very tired. If there was one advantage to not having Takoda in their home, it was being able to sleep through the night. Sally got up, and pulled Jack along with her. It was time they got some good shut-eye, and maybe, _maybe_, see Takoda in their dreams. He would be a little older, running around, smiling, and playing with his Halloween Town cousins. They would all be raised together as one big mixed up family. Jack and Sally would have it no other way. They were looking forward to the day, however far off it was, when those dreams would become reality.

The End

P.S.- Readers, thank you once again for making this story a success. I wouldn't be here without all of you and I appreciate each and every one of your thoughts. Thank you so very much. (Re-edit Comment: This story really did have a bit of everything. Sorry if it confused anyone at points and I hope that's been fixed.)


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